Lawyer in the Spotlight

Dismissal of Former LIVA CEO Kerschbaum Upheld

He failed to fulfill his duties as managing director(Bild: APA/TEAM FOTOKERSCHI)

Former LIVA Managing Director Dietmar Kerschbaum had filed a lawsuit challenging his dismissal and sought approximately half a million euros in compensation. Following a partial rejection in the lower court, the Linz Higher Regional Court has now also ruled that the termination was lawful. The ruling is not yet final.

Dietmar Kerschbaum was employed as artistic managing director at the Linz-based event company from July 1, 2017, until his dismissal on July 9, 2024. He argued that his dismissal was unlawful because there were no grounds for termination. Consequently, he sought, among other things, payment of severance pay in the amount of 482,572 euros gross, as well as a declaration of liability for additional portions of the severance pay. 

The Linz Regional Court, sitting as a labor and social court, had dismissed this claim in the first instance. 

12,650 euros for a cell phone
No decision has yet been made on the other claims filed. The Linz Regional Court found that Kerschbaum had instructed the head of LIVA’s human resources department, who reported to him, to pay him a monthly expense allowance for a cell phone used for business purposes but owned privately—without obtaining authorization to do so. In total, Kerschbaum received 12,650.88 euros in this manner between 2017 and 2024.

Breach of Trust in the Course of Duty
In the opinion of the Linz Regional Court, this constitutes a significant breach of duty, thereby establishing the grounds for dismissal based on breach of trust in the course of duty. The claim for severance pay was therefore dismissed in the first instance.

Acted Against LIVA’s Interests
The plaintiff’s appeal against the first-instance judgment was denied by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Linz. There, too, the court concluded that the plaintiff had breached his duties as managing director and that grounds for dismissal existed. Furthermore, Kerschbaum had taken actions that ran counter to LIVA’s interests—such as extending a sponsorship agreement that was of no use to LIVA.

Unfair Advantage
Furthermore, he had used information for his selection hearing that had been provided to him in advance—including the anticipated questions—by former Mayor Klaus Luger. These breaches of duty were sufficient to permanently and profoundly undermine LIVA’s trust and to justify his dismissal.

However, the decision is not yet final: The plaintiff may file an extraordinary appeal with the Supreme Court.

Now the attorney speaks
The Upper Austrian “Krone” spoke with Martin Steinbüchler, Kerschbaum’s attorney. He said: “Regarding this ruling by the Higher Regional Court, it should be noted that it concerns only a small part of the entire legal dispute. The rest of the case continues as before. This is very important: Only a portion of the claims is affected by this decision; the majority of the legal dispute is not.” It is currently unclear how the case will proceed: “We will now examine whether to file an appeal,” said Steinbüchler. 

“Sponsorship Was Not Kerschbaum’s Idea”
Regarding the sponsorship agreement mentioned by the Higher Regional Court, Steinbüchler added: “Luger wanted the sponsorship agreement to be that way. It happened at his insistence.” This refers to an artist management contract with the renowned German agency Opus 3 Artists. There were suspicions that the contract served the private interests of the trained opera singer rather than those of the cultural institute. This “scandalous contract” was terminated by mutual agreement and without notice shortly after the entire affair came to light in April 2024, in order to prevent further financial damage to the city of Linz.