No right to information of the authorised dealer for the assessment of the compensation claim

As a general rule, after the termination of the contractual relationship, the principal can continue to use the customer relationships acquired by the commercial agent or the authorised dealer. For these active business relations (goodwill) he pays the commercial agent or, if applicable, the authorised dealer (in opposition to Italian law) a compensation (compensation claim) according to § 89b HGB.

In Germany, this compensation claim is calculated according to formulas developed by the courts over the years and which also contain a prognosis factor as to what advantages the entrepreneur could derive in the future from the business relations acquired by the commercial agent/authorised dealer.

For this purpose, an authorised dealer wanted to know from the principal the total gross profit he obtained from the product that was the subject of the agency agreement and sued for information. The BGH ruled in the last instance (24.09.2020, VII ZR 69/19) that he was not entitled to such a claim. The gross profit achieved by the company with a product was not a suitable basis for calculating the entrepreneur's benefits within the meaning of section 89b HGB.