Usancen Blog
Austrian OHG on Capitalisation and Running Costs
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on two clauses contained in a tenancy agreement. In the case at hand, the plaintiffs are the tenants of a condominium apartment. In July 2020, they signed a provisional rent...
Austrian OGH on Insolvency Reorganisation Plans
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified important questions with regard to the conditions for the confirmation of reorganisation plans. In the case at hand, the creditors had accepted the debtor’s reorganisati...
EU: New General Product Safety Regulation in Force
European LawThe new EU General Product Safety Regulation has come into force on 13 December 2024 and is a further development of the existing law on product safety. When products are offered on the Internet, new comprehensive information requirements will apply....
Austrian OGH Ruling on Adding and Deducting Gifts
Civil LawIn order to facilitate the provision of evidence, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) ruled in favour of compulsory heirs. In the case at hand, in 1997, the decedent, who eventually died in 2020, and his wife transferre...
GER: BGH Ruling on Early Loan Repayment Penalties
Civil LawThe German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH) has recently ruled on the accuracy of information that must be provided when calculating early repayment penalties in consumer mortgage loan agreements. In the event of early re...
Austrian OGH on Rent Increase
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on the circumstances in which an increase in the ‘actual rent’ (in Austria: Hauptmietzins) due to an indexation clause is invalid. In the case at hand, the tenant plaintiff ...
OGH: Trade Secrets Require Confidentiality Measures
Competition LawThe mere desire to keep something secret is not enough to assume that it is a secret requiring legal protection. Rather, there must be appropriate measures to maintain confidentiality on the part of the person in possession of the information. The pl...
Another ECJ Ruling on Working Time Recording
Civil LawIn a recent ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided that the obligation to record working time also applies to domestic workers. In the national case in question, a full-time domestic worker had challenged her dismissal before a Spani...
Austrian OGH on Media Law: Defendant Must Be Named
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has recently dealt with the question of whether the name of defendants must be mentioned in reports, pursuant to Section 37 (1) of the Austrian Media Act (Mediengesetz, hereinafter Me...
GER: Notary’s Liability in Compulsory-Portion Waiver
Civil LawIn the case at hand, the waiver of a compulsory inheritance portion was not concluded by the testator in person, but instead by a representative who did not have a power of attorney. The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter...
EU Commission Proceedings – Can TikTok Win Elections?
European LawWould Romania’s annulled presidential election have turned out differently without TikTok? The platform is under suspicion of being insufficiently active in the fight against foreign influence in elections. Therefore, the EU Commission has opened for...
Austrian OGH on Regional Planning Contracts
Civil LawCompliance with regional planning contracts, in particular the right of proposal and consent, can be safeguarded, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified. In the case at hand, the plaintiff property developer ...
Austrian OGH on Litigation Notices in Land Registers
Civil LawIn Austria, the valid registration of a dispute in the land register under Section 61 of the GBG (Allgemeines Grundbuchsgesetz 1955, hereinafter GBG) has the effect that the judgment given in an ensuing action is also fully effective against those pe...
OGH on Enforcing Smart Meter Installation
Civil LawUtility network companies are not allowed to threaten to disconnect a customer’s utilities if customers refuse to have a smart meter installed on their property. This was recently decided by the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinaft...
EU: Interest Rate Derivatives Cartel – HSBC Fined
European LawEuro interest rate derivatives: The European General Court (GC) has confirmed the EU Commission’s revised decision against HSBC, imposing a fine of EUR 31.7 million for participating in a euro interest rate derivatives cartel. Interest rate derivativ...
GER: Constitutional Court on EncroChat Data as Evidence
Constitutional LawThis is the first time that the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, hereinafter BVerfG) has been asked whether the use of EncroChat messages as evidence is constitutionally permissible. The case at hand was a constitutional...
E-Scooter Accidents Aren’t Occupational Injuries
Civil LawAccording to the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH), if an employee has an e-scooter accident on their way to work, the Austrian national accident insurance does not have to pay a disability pension. In February 2023, the ...
CJEU: Union Citizens May Join Political Parties Abroad
European LawEU Citizenship: The European Court of Justice has ruled that denying EU citizens the right to become members of a political party when they reside in a Member State of which they are not nationals is contrary to EU law. In imposing such a condition o...
GER: Banking Fees – Silence Doesn’t Imply Consent
Civil LawThe German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH) had to decide on a dispute about bank service fees which a customer wanted to recover from his bank. The reason was that he had not explicitly agreed to pay bank service fees. A...
OGH on Property Disturbance by Water Runoff
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified the conditions under which a landowner is entitled to obtain an injunction to stop water from flowing across his property and when such runoff must be tolerated. In the ...
OGH on Permissibility of Interest Escalating Clauses
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on the question of whether a loan agreement is null and void on account of, among other things, an agreed interest escalation clause. In the case at hand, the plaintiff, a c...
GER: Inheritance Tax – Tax-Free Allowance for Grandchildren
Tax LawIf a grandchild inherits from their grandfather, can they claim the EUR 400,000 tax-free allowance available only to children? Yes, if the child’s grandfather's parent is no longer alive. But what if the parent simply renounced? In the case at hand, ...
OGH on Advance Agreement on Matrimonial Homeownership
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) had to clarify whether a prior agreement on the marital home was valid in the context of property settlement proceedings. The parties’ marriage, contracted in June 1990, was dissolved...
VwGH: Disciplinary Penalty despite Previous Warning
Administrative LawThe Austrian Supreme Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VwGH) had to decide whether the imposition of a disciplinary sanction on a civil servant who had previously received a warning under Section 109(2) of the 1979 Austrian Ci...
OGH on Product Liability for Medical Devices
Civil LawIn the case at hand, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) had to decide on the product liability of a sleep apnoea ventilator. The plaintiff had purchased a ventilator imported into the EEA by the defendant. After severa...
Efficient Legal Information 
Legal Jobs 
Innovative LegalTech Solutions