DLA Piper wins case on Sunday opening regulations for Modehaus Jakob Jost

DLA Piper – with a team involving Partner Dr. Justus Herrlinger (PICTURED) and Associate Dr. Jonas Kranz – has successfully represented Modehaus Jakob Jost, a long-established retail company based in Grünstadt, in a competition law dispute against the Betty Barclay Group before the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Zweibrücken.

In its judgment of 23 October 2025, the court ruled that a special regulation issued by the State of Rhineland-Palatinate permitting store openings on all public-holiday Sundays at the Zweibrücken Fashion Outlet (ZFO) is unlawful. As a result, the competitor is no longer permitted to open on those Sundays.

The decision is of particular significance as it ends years of preferential treatment for retailers located in the ZFO and strengthens equal competitive conditions within the brick-and-mortar retail sector. The overturned regulation had allowed Betty Barclay to open on up to twelve Sundays per year due to the outlet’s proximity to Zweibrücken Airport – despite the fact that no scheduled flights have taken place there since 2014. The OLG held that this significant change in the circumstances underlying the regulation rendered it unconstitutional, thereby eliminating the legal basis for Sunday openings.

Previously, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) had already ruled in favor of the client on key legal issues and remitted the case back to the Higher Regional Court. No further appeal was permitted.

Modehaus Jakob Jost was supported in the proceedings by the BTE – German Federal Association of the Textile, Footwear and Leather Goods Retail Trade.