October 26, 2005
A German federal court has dismissed retail giant KarstadtQuelle AG's appeal against a lower court decision which obligated the company to pay € 145 million (US$ 175 million) to the Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) as part of a dispute over a piece of land that was once part of the department store dynasty Wertheim. The court said the JCC has a right to reimbursement because the property was confiscated under the Nazi rule. Descendants of the Jewish family Wertheim have pursued several lawsuits in Germany and the US to win damages for a piece of land seized by the Nazis and temporarily owned by KarstadtQuelle. KarstadtQuelle in 2000 sold the property to Otto Beisheim, founder of Metro AG, for € 145 million. Meanwhile, an appeals court in the United States has rejected a claim filed by the Wertheim family to allow a hearing of the case in the US. The decision by the third circuit court in Philadelphia confirms a ruling handed down by the lower court in New Jersey in May 2004.
