1. Decisions of the state social courts on basic income support under the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II)
1.1 – LSG Berlin-Brandenburg, Judgment of 22.09.2022 – L 37 SF 55/21 EK AS – Appeal allowed
Guiding Principles:
Legal aid proceedings initiated during the pendency of main proceedings are, for the purposes of compensation law, to be regarded as an ancillary matter to the main proceedings only for the duration of those proceedings. From the moment they outlast the concluded main proceedings, periods of inactivity must be taken into account as with any other proceedings until their conclusion, although simultaneous compensation for main proceedings and legal aid proceedings is to be avoided in accordance with the objective of Section 198 of the Courts Constitution Act (GVG).
The consolidation of proceedings pursuant to Section 113 of the Social Court Act (SGG) does not result in the individual proceedings losing their independence and being considered (only) as a single unit for the purposes of compensation law (confirmation of the Senate judgment of 16 March 2017 – L 37 SF 6/16 EK AS – para. 41 f., juris).
Source: www.socialgerichtsabilities.de
1.2 – LSG Berlin-Brandenburg, judgment of March 17, 2021 – L 37 SF 161/21 EK AS
Guiding Principles
1. A complaint of undue delay is, in any event, an abuse of rights and therefore ineffective if it is raised only at a time when the court of first instance has already set a date for oral proceedings and has also submitted a settlement proposal to the parties, which has already been accepted by the opposing party and is shortly thereafter also accepted by the plaintiff himself.
2. The decision of the court of first instance to (temporarily) provide the requested files to another court or panel of the same court upon request may be objectively justified (here: transmission of the court file to the lower court due to pending cost assessment proceedings).
3. Insofar as the Senate previously considered the month between the summons to the hearing and the conduct of the oral hearing / discussion as a period of activity per se (see, for example, Senate judgment of 25 February 2016 – L 37 SF 128/14 EK AL – juris para. 52), it no longer adheres to this view (following BSG, judgment of 24 March 2022 – B 10 ÜG 4/21 R – juris para. 38).
Source: www.socialgerichtsabilities.de
1.3 – LSG Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, decision of 28.03.2023 – L 14 AS 260/22 ER
Guiding principle
: The assumption of energy debts by way of a loan requires the prior exhaustion of all available self-help options.
Source: www.landesrecht-mv.de
1.4 – Lower Saxony-Bremen State Social Court, Judgment of 07.03.2023, Case No.: L 9 AS 69/19
Maintenance; minor repairs; minor repairs clause; subject of dispute; subsidy; costs for minor repairs and maintenance
Official guideline
1. Costs for minor repairs and maintenance are included in the standard allowance.
2. Such costs are not considered part of the accommodation costs (§ 22 SGB II), even if there is a so-called minor repairs clause in the rental agreement.
3. The only option under consideration is the granting of a loan pursuant to Section 24 of the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II). Therefore, this constitutes a separate subject of dispute.
Source: voris.wolterskluwer-online.de
Note:
This is a highly questionable and also legally incorrect decision; minor repairs are clearly to be classified as accommodation costs and therefore covered as housing costs.
Legal tip:
cf. Saxon State Social Court, judgment of 21.04.2016 – L 3 AS 419/12 – On the question of whether the expenses for necessary minor repairs are to be attributed to the expenses for accommodation and heating within the meaning of Section 22 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 SGB II.
2. Decisions of the social courts on basic income support under the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II)
2.1 – SG Nuremberg, judgment of November 26, 2021 – S 11 AS 78/20
Guiding principles:
The confirmation by the competent employment agency pursuant to Section 2 Paragraph 3 of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU only concerns unemployment, but not its voluntary or involuntary nature.
Source: www.socialgerichtsabilities.de
2.2 – SG Altenburg, judgment of March 20, 2023 – S 42 AS 1098/19
Guiding Principles
1. Proof of predominantly business use of a private vehicle within the meaning of Section 3 Paragraph 7 of the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II) can be provided by means of a logbook or in another suitable form, in accordance with tax law practice. In individual cases, the nature of the specific self-employed activity carried out and the official administrative practice regarding the collection and use of evidence must be taken into account in the assessment.
2. When assessing the avoidability of business expenses in the context of self-employment pursuant to Section 3 Paragraph 3 Sentence 1 of the Regulation on Unemployment Benefit II (Alg II-V), it must be taken into account that a member of a mixed household who is not receiving benefits under the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II), is not obligated to strictly adhere to the standard of Section 3 Paragraph 3 Sentence 1 of the Alg II-V regarding their business expenses. Knowing that their spouse receives benefits under the SGB II, they can only be expected to align their spending with generally accepted economic efficiency criteria and not incur any obviously unnecessary or excessive business expenses.
Source: www.socialgerichtsabilities.de
2.3 – SG Nordhausen, Judgment of 22.03.2023 – S 13 AS 1534/21
Guiding principle of the editor of Tacheles e. V.:
The SGB II adequacy assessment during a pandemic is not limited to 6 months (contra LSG Nordrhein-Westfalen, 12.05.2022 – L 2 AS 468/22 B ER).
Guiding principles:
The six-month time limit for the fiction of the appropriateness of the actual expenses for accommodation and heating in Section 67 Paragraph 3 Sentence 1 of the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II) does not expire within the period of validity determined by Section 67 Paragraphs 1 and 5 of the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II) in conjunction with Section 1 of the German Ordinance on the Allocation of Benefits (VZVV).
Source: www.socialgerichtsabilities.de
3. Decisions of the social courts on employment promotion law (SGB III)
3.1 – SG Darmstadt, judgment of January 30, 2023 – S 8 AL 277/20
Principles:
Based on the principles of proportionality and excess, the Federal Employment Agency must shorten a waiting period for unemployment benefits due to job abandonment if the unemployed person was given a definite indication of dismissal by their employer before the conclusion of the termination agreement and the employment relationship would have ended within the next six or twelve weeks if this dismissal had been issued.
Source: www.socialgerichtsabilities.de
4. Decisions on asylum law and the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (AsylbLG)
4.1 – Stuttgart Social Court – Decision of April 19, 2023 – Case No.: S 11 AY 526/23 ER
Legal norms: Section 3 AsylbLG, Section 3a AsylbLG, Section 86b Paragraph 2 Sentence 2 SGG – Keywords: Standard benefit level 1, benefits according to Sections 3, 3a AsylbLG, Stuttgart Social Court
Guiding principle of the editor of Tacheles e. V.:
1. Even with basic benefits (§ 3a AsylbLG), standard benefit level 1 must be granted to single persons.
Source: Attorney Sven Adam
5. Miscellaneous information on Hartz IV, social assistance, asylum law, housing benefit law and other legal codes
5.1 – No payment to the hospital for emergency care
According to the Federal Social Court (BSG), hospitals are entitled to remuneration for services as emergency aid providers pursuant to Section 25 of the German Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII), only as long as the social welfare provider is unaware of the case.
Attorney Prof. Dr. Hermann Plagemann, Plagemann Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB, Frankfurt am Main
From beck-fachdienst Sozialversicherungsrecht 07/2023 dated 14.04.2023
5.2 – Newsletter from Attorney Volker Gerloff 05/2023
Follow this link: www.ra-gerloff.de
Author of the case law ticker: Tacheles editor Detlef Brock.
Source: Tacheles case law ticker
