 The circumstances of the deal and the (not only for German standards) particularly high severance payments awarded to leading managers of the company led in 2004 to a trial at Landgericht Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Regional Court) - the so-called Mannesmann trial.The accused, among others the chairman of the supervisory board at the time of the takeover, Josef Ackermann, and the former CEO of Mannesmann, Klaus Esser, were initially granted a full discharge by the court.However, after revision proceedings, the Bundesgerichtshof Federal Court of Justice overruled the contested judgment and referred the case back for retrial at the Landgericht.