BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The legal dispute over a multi-million fine imposed by the Berlin data protection authority on the real estate group Deutsche Wohnen SE has been referred back to the Berlin Regional Court. This is the result of a ruling by the higher Berlin Court of Appeal, which was published on the Internet portal of the Berlin judiciary.

Previously, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had already dealt with the fine of EUR 14.5 million imposed on Deutsche Wohnen in November 2019 by the then Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Maja Smoltczyk, for a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The company has been part of the Vonovia real estate group since 2021.

What data is a real estate company allowed to store about its tenants?

The proceedings are about what data a real estate company is allowed to store about its tenants. Specifically, the Berlin data protection authority accused Deutsche Wohnen of not having implemented a regular deletion of tenant data that was no longer needed. At the beginning of the proceedings, the Berlin Regional Court overturned the fine because the authority had not specifically named a person responsible for the breach.

The ECJ was then involved in the appeal proceedings before the Berlin Court of Appeal. On December 5, 2023, the ECJ ruled, in contrast to the Regional Court, that data protection authorities may impose fines on companies even if they have not identified an administrative offense by a natural person in charge.

At the same time, however, the Luxembourg judges also ruled that a fine may only be imposed on a company if an infringement was committed "culpably", i.e. "intentionally" or at least "negligently". The acting Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Meike Kamp, said that her authority had clearly stated in the fine notice that Deutsche Wohnen SE had acted intentionally. This is disputed by Deutsche Wohnen SE.

The company's lawyers expect the proceedings to be lengthy

The company's lawyers are now bracing themselves for lengthy proceedings. "Nothing has been decided in terms of content. On the contrary, so far it has only been about procedural issues," said lawyer Tim Wybitul from the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, which represents Deutsche Wohnen. "The rest of the proceedings will be a long ride, I expect up to five years."

Wybitul is also certain that the case from Berlin will end up in Luxembourg again. For example, the ECJ will then have to decide whether to follow the views of the authorities. "The courts have not yet dealt with the essential questions of data protection, such as when data must be deleted or how it may be archived."

Berlin data protection officer Kamp, on the other hand, expects the regional court to make a decision soon. "Now that the European Court of Justice has clarified the key legal issues, the regional court can now deal with the fine in the matter."/chd/DP/zb