Usancen Blog
OGH: Summer Use of Winter Season Passes
Civil LawThe settlement of a claim for a monetary refund by offering and accepting a substitute service constitutes a service in lieu of payment within the meaning of Section 1414 of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter AB...
Product Liability: What Damage Is Recoverable?
ZivilrechtThe right to compensation under the Austrian Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz, hereinafter PHG) only covers damage to legal interests that are absolutely protected, in so far as this can be attributed to the defective product. Pure financ...
GER: ‘Garage Risk’ – What Vehicle Repair Costs Are Covered?
Civil LawThe victim of a road traffic accident has the right to take their damaged vehicle to a garage for repair and then to claim compensation from the party responsible for the accident. According to the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, ...
State Aid: Unlawful COVID-19 Aid for KLM
European LawIn the legal battle over State support during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryanair has won a victory. During the pandemic, many airlines received payments in the form of State aid. Now, once again, the European courts have had to deal with the legality of ...
Is Scratching a Car’s Paint with an Iron Shovel an Accident?
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) dealt with the definition of an accident as used in insurance contracts. An accident is an event that takes place suddenly and directly from the outside by means of mechanical force. ...
Supreme Court on Terminating Caretaker Contracts
Labour LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) dealt with terminating a caretaker contract, ruling that landlords can only terminate such contracts for serious reasons if the caretaker is entitled to employee housing. The plaintif...
OGH on Right of First Refusal for Condominiums
Civil LawThe right of first refusal (ROFR) and right of repurchase are legally invalid according to Section 38 (1) no. 3 of the Austrian Condominium Act (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz, hereinafter WEG) if these rights are capable of nullifying or unreasonably restr...
OGH: No Removal of Managing Director by Liquidator
Corporate Law Procedural LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified that an insolvency administrator does not have the power to dismiss a managing director in the insolvency of a shareholder of a limited liability company (GmbH). The ori...
EU: Instant Payments Are Here! Send Money within Seconds
European LawNo more delays of several days when transferring money. Individuals and businesses in the European Union will soon be able to receive money in a matter of seconds. This has been decided by the members of the European Parliament, paving the way for th...
OGH Ruling on Snow Dump Easement
Civil LawEssentially, exercising a particular right is required for the usufruct of a right over another person’s property. This must be apparent to the owner of the encumbered property; however, it does not depend on the owner’s positive knowledge thereof. T...
ECJ: Air Passenger Rights – No Compensation after Rebooking
European LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided whether a passenger who booked an alternative flight due to an imminent long delay is entitled to compensation under the Air Passenger Rights Regulation (261/2004). In 2019, the plaintiff booked a fligh...
OGH on Chairlift Operators’ Liability
Civil LawIn transportation contracts, the obligation not to harm the physical well-being of passengers is considered a secondary contractual obligation. The first and second plaintiffs were riding the defendant’s chairlift in January 2018, when the weather su...
OGH: Statute of Limitations for Capital Repayments
Corporate LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that the suspension of the statute of limitations pursuant to Section 1494 of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB) applies analogo...
GER: Commercial Code Adjustments to Relieve Smaller Companies
Corporate LawThe German government has decided to raise the financial thresholds for accounting and financial reporting by nearly 25%. The aim is to reduce administrative burdens on small and medium-sized companies. For this purpose the German Federal Ministry of...
OGH: Compensation for Wrongful Birth
Civil LawA long-standing legal dispute ends. The Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH, in a ruling by its enlarged Senate, has now decided on the claim for compensation by parents after the wrongful birth of a child as a result of a m...
ECJ: No Lifetime Storage of Biometric and Genetic Data
European LawHow long may biometric and genetic data be kept on people who have a criminal record? This was a question recently addressed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In Bulgaria, an individual was registered by the police as a false witness as part of...
GER: Does Gifting Company Shares Result in Taxable Salaries?
Tax LawThe transfer of company shares as a gift to senior employees for the purpose of securing a company’s succession does not automatically result in taxable salaries in the case of income from work according to Section 19 (1) sentence 1 no. 1 of the Germ...
Dog Barking as Noise Nuisance
Civil LawAccording to Section 364 (2) of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB), if there is a noise nuisance coming from a property, the neighbour may stop the property owner from causing any such disturbance. The def...
OGH: Postponement of Compulsory Inheritance Portion
Civil LawTestators may order the postponement of the right to their heirs’ compulsory inheritance portion for a maximum of five years after the testators’ death pursuant to Section 766(1) of the Austrian General Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch...
OGH on Legal Capacity and Mental Illness
Civil LawA person has legal capacity if they can appreciate the scope of a particular transaction and the consequences of their actions, and act in accordance with that understanding. The plaintiff had taken out a life insurance policy with the defendant insu...
GER: Savings Bank Customers’ Rights Strengthened
Civil LawThe German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH) has ruled that the standard right to cancel a premium savings contract can continue to exist even after the maximum premium level has been reached. This applies, for example, in...
GER: Management Liability Limited by Internal Rules
Corporate LawAccording to the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH), internal rules of responsibility in the management of a legal entity cannot lead to the abolition of liability under criminal and liability law, but they can lead ...
VfGH: KIM-V Complies with Law
Banking LawThe Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfasssungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VfGH) has dismissed a complaint against the Austrian Financial Market Authority's (FMA) Real Estate Financing Measures Ordinance (Kreditinstitute-Immobilienfinanzierungsmaßnahmen...
OGH: No temporary suspension of capital measures
Corporate LawAn application by a listed European Company (SE) for temporary suspension of capital measures has been rejected by the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH). The situation was as follows: A limited company domiciled in Russia...
Insurance Coverage for Rainwater Damage
Civil LawThe interpretation of general policy conditions is based on the standard of the average policyholder. The apparent purpose of a provision must always be taken into account. The plaintiff took out a bundled insurance policy with the defendant. Special...
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