Usancen Blog
OGH: No Public Liability after Failure to File for Discontinuance
Civil LawIf no notice of discontinuance pursuant to Section 108 of the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung, hereinafter StPO) is filed, a wrongfully accused person cannot claim damages under public liability. In the original case, the pla...
OGH: Expanded Court on Laesio Enormis in Options Contracts
Civil LawIn a decision by an expanded court, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has provided clarification on the exercise of laesio enormis (lesion beyond moiety) as well as its statute of limitations with regard to options co...
ECJ: Teachers’ Consent for Live Video Classes?
Data Privacy LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) took up the issue of data processing in employment relationships. Do national regulations violate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? Backdrop of the case was the introduction of live streaming of video ...
GER: Consumer Construction Contracts for Single Firms?
Civil LawFor the first time, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH) had to rule on the controversial requirements for ‘consumer construction contracts’[1] newly introduced in 2018. If a home is not built by a general contractor ...
GER: Right to Live on Own Property Is Seizable
Civil LawAccording to the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH), the right to live on one’s own property can be seized at any time. Thus, cancellation of this right by an insolvency administrator is possible in the event of inso...
VwGH: Lawyer Deadline Duties
Procedural LawThe Austrian Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VwGH) has clarified its case law on the question of to what degree faulty deadline calculations by lawyers allow for a case’s restitution in integrum. In the original proceedings, fines had b...
OGH: Borrowers’ Duty to Cooperate
Civil LawIn the case at hand, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) dealt with the question of a savings bank's liability arising out of a credit check and a loan promise. The plaintiff had contacted the defendant savings bank abo...
OGH: Partial Gifts and Settlements
Civil LawIn the case at hand, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) dealt with a property transfer between a landlord and the tenant of the building on the landlords’s property. The first plaintiff is the owner of a parcel of land...
OGH: Bar Association Not Liable for Lost Client Funds
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that the Austrian Bar Association’s duty to monitor its members is not intended to protect clients. In the original case, the plaintiff’s lawyer had not credited funds inten...
OGH: No Interest on Key Deposits
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) has ruled that clauses in general terms and conditions are lawful stating that fees for bank-deposit safe keys do not have to earn interest. In the original proceedings, the Austrian Consumer Inf...
OGH: Clerical Error Does Not Affect Will’s Validity
Civil LawIn the decision at hand, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) dealt with a clerical error in a third-party will, relating to the witnesses. Due to the drafting date, the legal provisions prior to the Austrian Inheritance Law Amendme...
OGH: COVID-19 and Reduced Rents
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has recently clarified that officially imposed access restrictions and distancing rules can justify reductions for rent paid for business premises. The plaintiff is the landlord of a ...
VfGH: Counterstatements May Be Too Expensive
Constitutional LawThe Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VfGH) has repealed Section 17 (5) of the Austrian Media Act (Mediengesetz, hereinafter MedienG) as unconstitutional, as the cost risk of wrongfully obtained counterstatements can ...
OGH on Guarantees under Section 1170b ABGB
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified that a claim for guarantee under Section 1170b of the Austrian General Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB) also exists in the case of an a...
OGH: Disclosing Data Recipients under GDPR
Data Privacy LawIn the case at hand, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) examined a consumer request concerning the disclosing of personal data to third parties. In 2019, the plaintiff had requested information from the defendant about...
ECJ: Compensation Rights for ‘Dieselgate’ Car Owners
European LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has found: Buyers of motor vehicles equipped with illegal defeat devices are entitled to claim for compensation from vehicle manufacturers. The plaintiff in the main proceedings pending before a German court had bo...
VwGH on Appointing Managers Responsible under Trade Law
Administrative LawThe Austrian Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VwGH) has ruled that in matters of trade law a responsible representative cannot be appointed pursuant to Section 9(2) of the Austrian 1991 Administrative Penal Code (Verwaltungss...
VwGH: Statute of Repose in Plant Approval
Administrative LawThe Austrian Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VwGH) has ruled that failure to announce the oral hearings in plant-approval proceedings by not publishing such notice on the premises affects the statute of repose of the owners ...
VfGH: Mere University Degree Insufficient to Run a Restaurant
Constitutional LawThe Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VfGH) has ruled that a university degree is not prerequisite to running a business in the hospitality industry. The corresponding provision of the Austrian Hospitality Ordinance (...
OGH: Vacate Agreements in Advance are Unlawful
Civil LawIn the case at hand, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) considered an open-ended tenancy and the parties' periodic court-enforceable arrangements requiring the tenant to vacate the premises (the Austrian legal term des...
OGH: Tenant Claims-Assignation not Illegal
Civil LawClient representation under Section 37(3)(9) of the Austrian Tenancy Act (Mietrechtsgesetz, hereinafter MRG) is permissible even if such activities are carried out on a professional or commercial basis. This does not constitute acting as a bogus soli...
First OGH Merits Decision on Diesel Scandal
Civil LawIn the proceedings at issue, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) examined the claim of a car buyer against the car seller concerning the exhaust-emission control device installed in the diesel motor vehicle. The signifi...
OGH: Invalid Clause in Package Tour GTCs
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has confirmed that a complete preclusion of the right to withdraw from a package tour contract at no charge in the case of travel restrictions due to COVID-19 is inadmissible. In 2021...
VwGH: No Success Bonus for Legal Aid Lawyers
Public LawThe Austrian Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VwGH) has found the granting of a success bonus for legal aid lawyers to be incompatible with Section 16 (4) of the Austrian Bar Code (Rechtsanwaltsordnung, hereinafter RAO). In t...
OGH: Politician ‘Collusion’ Ahead of Committee Interview
Civil LawIn democratic societies, one of the main functions of the press is to shed a critical light on political events. In so doing, the press must be given the opportunity to fulfil its vital role as a public watchdog. The plaintiff in the case at hand is ...
Efficient Legal Information 
Legal Jobs 
Innovative LegalTech Solutions