In the long-running dispute over the limits of reasonable housing costs for social welfare recipients in the Werra-Meißner district, the Werra-Meißner Job Center has withdrawn its appeal from a 2016 case before the Hessian State Social Court (case number: L 6 AS 276/18). The dispute concerned housing cost benefits that the Job Center had reduced based on an expert opinion from the company Analyse und Konzepte from March 2014.
The plaintiff, a 55-year-old woman from Eschwege, filed a lawsuit after her monthly housing allowance was reduced by more than €100.00 from €374.72 to €274.56. The appeal was withdrawn "due to the intervening development of case law," according to the withdrawal letter. The job center had already been ordered by a judgment dated August 23, 2018, to grant the plaintiff higher benefits. The job center had appealed this decision.
The 2nd Chamber of the Social Court of Kassel recently ruled again in three judgments dated November 20, 2020 (Case Nos.: S 2 AS 147/17, S 2 AS 266/17 and S 2 AS 271/17) that the housing market survey report from 2014, even after a "revision" in 2019, remains inconclusive and therefore inapplicable (Press Release of December 10, 2020).
“I assume that the job center withdrew its appeal to prevent a negative ruling from the Hessian State Social Court as well. It is now to be expected that the job center will also withdraw its appeal in all remaining pending proceedings and make substantial back payments with interest,” explains attorney Sven Adam, who represents the plaintiff, regarding the significance of the appeal withdrawal.
The withdrawal of the appeal dated January 6, 2021 is attached to this notification.
