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OGH Rules on Product Liability Claims
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has again considered claims for damages under the Austrian Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz, hereinafter PHG) and ruled that instructions in pictogram form are generally i...
OGH on Limitation Periods for Dismissal Compensation
Labour LawAccording to Section 34(1) of the Austrian Salaried Employees Act (Angestelltengesetz, hereinafter AngG), claims for compensation for premature dismissal must be asserted in court within six months. Otherwise, they are void. The plaintiff had been in...
OGH on Remote-Work Expense Reimbursements
Labour LawAs a matter of principle, the provision of equipment for the performance of work is the responsibility of the employer. If employees provide the equipment themselves, they have a claim against the employer for reimbursement of expenses under Section ...
OGH on Real Estate Co-Ownership
Civil LawAccording to Section 829 of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB), each co-owner is the full owner of their share. Each co-owner is entitled to use the property to the extent of their co-ownership share, provided that th...
OGH on ‘Wealth Sacrifice Theory’ and Estate Gifts
Civil LawPursuant to Section 782(1) of the Austrian General Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB), gifts made by a deceased person to individuals who are not entitled to a compulsory inheritance portion in the last two years prior...
OGH: Absorption Proceedings and More Debt
Procedural LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled: If, as agreed, a loan does not become due until the end of the absorption proceedings (Abschöpfungsverfahren[1]), there is no breach of obligation within the meaning of Sec...
No Insurance for Improper Use of Parking Brake
Civil LawUnder Section 61 of the Austrian Insurance Contract Act (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz, hereinafter VersVG), the insurer is released from its obligation to pay if the policyholder caused the insured event intentionally or in a grossly negligent manner....
OGH on Contractors Duty to Warn
Civil LawIf a contractor culpably breaches their duty to warn under Section 1168a of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB), they must put the client in the position the client would have been in had the duty to warn b...
OGH: Right to Info on Small-Value Accounts
Banking LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that an individual has the right to know all the information given to them when opening a savings account, even if the corresponding savings account passbook is not presente...
OGH: No Representation of Spouse Unworthy to Inherit
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled: Section 542 of the Austrian General Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB) does not provide for the representation of an unworthy spouse. The de...
OGH: Waiver of Claims against GesbR Shareholders
Corporate LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified the following: If an action against a shareholder of a partnership under Austrian civil law (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts, hereinafter GesbR) is withdrawn by means o...
OGH: Recreational Value and Rest-Period Compensation
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that recreational value can be compensated as damages for breaches of minimum rest periods. In the case at hand, the plaintiff had been employed as a school caretaker and ma...
Does Attending a Party on Sick Leave Justify Dismissal?
Labour LawIn the event of illness and subsequent incapacity for work, employees must conduct themselves in such a way as to ensure that their ability to do their job is restored as quickly as possible. Conduct that may adversely affect the course of the illnes...
ECJ: New Ownership in Notary’s Office – Business Transfer?
European LawCan changing the ownership of a notary’s office be considered as transferring a business? The European Court of Justice (ECJ) says yes – even if notaries are appointed as business owners by the State. In the first national case to be decided, four em...
GER: BGH on Lawyers E-Mailbox Malfunctions
Procedural LawA screenshot is enough to prove that the electronic mailbox program for German lawyers (besonderes elektronisches Anwaltspostfach, hereinafter beA) failed for several hours. This was decided by the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, ...
OGH on Remuneration Set-Offs
Labour LawIn Austria, employees are entitled to a remuneration even if they are released from work. However, remunerations earned elsewhere must be set off against the original entitlement to remuneration. The offsetting rule of Section 1155 of the Austrian Ci...
OGH: Duty to Inform Insurance Provider
Civil LawPolicy holders must inform their insurance company truthfully and fully of all circumstances of the claim. This duty of disclosure ends with the refusal of the insurer to pay out a benefit. In 2016, the plaintiff bought a used car. As the car was equ...
ECJ Strikes down Austrian Comm Platform Regulation
European LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the centrepiece of Austria’s law against hate speech on the Internet, the Communications Platforms Act (Kommunikationsplattformengesetz, hereinafter KoPl-G), is contrary to EU law. Meta, Google, and ...
OGH: Failure to Properly Record Working Hours: Grounds for Dismissal
Labour LawIt is not just an administrative offence to record working hours untruthfully. It is also a serious breach of trust and can be grounds for dismissal. When the coronavirus pandemic began, the defendant employer asked employees to work from home on Fri...
OGH Rules on Tour Operator GT&Cs
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that the following clauses in tour operators’ general terms and conditions are invalid: ‘The total price of the package holiday [...] cannot be determined before the conclus...
GER: Amended GWB to Modernise Competition Law
Competition LawThe 11th amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkung) is a response to the critical price developments following Russia’s attack on Ukraine and a further step towards modernising competition law. The a...
OGH on Serious Defects under Consumer Guarantees Act
Civil LawFor the first time, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on when a defect under the new Consumer Guarantees Act (Verbrauchergewährleistungsgesetz, hereinafter VGG) directly entitles consumers to rescission of t...
ECJ: Free First Copy of Patient Records
European LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled on the interpretation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Patients have the right to request a first copy of their medical records free of charge. There does not have to be any reason for th...
OGH on Product Liability in Austria
Civil LawA product is defective if it does not provide the level of safety that is reasonable under the circumstances. However, if the defect was not foreseeable according to the state of science and technology at the time, the exclusion of liability under Se...
OGH: Right of Recourse under Austrian Insurance Law
Civil LawGrossly negligent behaviour is deemed to have occurred if there was an objectively particularly serious failure to act. Such breach of due diligence must also be considered reprehensible from a subjective viewpoint. The defendant’s grandfather is the...
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