Vienna Civil Court: Debt Judgments Enforcement or Extension

Mar 10, 2023 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

An enforcement of a claim is deemed to have been completed even if the claim for collection amounts to less than the claim pursued and the claim is paid off in full by a third party debtor. As long as this constellation has not been finalized, an extension of the enforcement judgment is possible. The debtee has the right to choose between an application for extension and application for enforcement.

In the case at hand, on 30 November 2021, the applicant obtained an order for debt execution of a claim against the third party debtor. In a statement dated 27 July 2022, the applicant applied for the execution of the claim pursuant to Section 54f of the Austrian Enforcement Regulation (hereinafter EO = Exekutionsordnung). However, the court of first instance rejected an extension of the enforcement order.

The petitioner's appeal was directed against this decision. Pursuant to the overall reform of Austrian Enforcement Law (GREx), extension are possible even without a new application for enforcement.

The Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters (LG für ZRS), as the court of appeal, therefore ruled as follows:

If proceedings for the enforcement of a monetary claim are pending, no new execution authorisation is required in order to resort to any further means of execution of the movable property. An execution is pending as soon as it has been authorised. It ends with cessation under Sections 39 et seq. EO or with termination under Section 41a EO, whereby the prevailing case law requires full satisfaction of the debtor. It is also not necessary to resubmit the execution title. By virtue of conclusion a maiore ad minus, Section 54f EO is also to be applied if the debtor initially only wishes to access individual objects of execution. In any case, enforcement may not yet be terminated or discontinued. An already granted enforcement order does not prevent the granting of other means of enforcement or the same means of enforcement directed at other property objects. According to a past decision of the Austrian Supreme Court, enforcement of a claim also ended with complete delivery of the proceeds from the object of enforcement, although and even if this did not result in full satisfaction of the claim pursued.

LG für ZRS Wien, 47 R 248/22a (06.12.2022)