USANCEN: LegalNews May 2026/ 1

May 7, 2026

Dear Readers!

In this week’s newsletter we have once again compiled a selection of recent rulings in civil and commercial law for you.

The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) has examined the GTCs of a power and electricity supplier under which customers who feed electricity from their photovoltaic systems into the grid for a fee were, under certain circumstances, required to pay a compensation charge – a clause deemed non-transparent by the OGH.

In the field of employment law, the OGH had to assess whether previous periods of work that were not communicated in a timely or specific manner could be taken into account retrospectively. The additional question was: Which rules apply should there be subsequent changes in the law?

We also report on an OGH decision concerning family law contact rights, in which the role of the visitation mediator was addressed.

The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has rejected the long-standing judicial practice in the field of residential property law, which used to require three comparative quotes to be obtained for condominium maintenance measures.

We hope you will find the articles interesting and look forward to your feedback at usancen@lawthek.eu.

Kind regards,

The Editorial Team

Civil Law

GER: Condominium Law Does Not Require a 'Three-Quotes Rule'

The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH) has determined that a condominium owners’ association is not required to solicit multiple comparative quotes prior to commissioning maintenance work. This judgment expressly ove...

(7. Mai 2026)

Civil Law

No Non-Transparent Clauses for PV Feed-In Customers

The Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) was tasked with assessing the legality of a provision within an energy company's terms and conditions that authorised the imposition of a compensation charge on customers who operate ...

(7. Mai 2026)

Civil Law

OGH on Child Contact Rights: Conflict Mediation and Parental Counselling

In a custody case addressing access rights, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) was required to determine appropriate measures to protect the welfare of the child amid ongoing parental conflicts. Although several court-...

(7. Mai 2026)

Labour Law

Austria: Prior Employment and Salary Classification

The Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has recently determined that an employee cannot retroactively receive credit for additional periods of work if adequate notice of these periods was not provided, despite proper notifi...

(7. Mai 2026)

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USANCEN: LegalNews May 2026/ 1

GER: Condominium Law Does Not Require a 'Three-Quotes Rule'

No Non-Transparent Clauses for PV Feed-In Customers

OGH on Child Contact Rights: Conflict Mediation and Parental Counselling

Austria: Prior Employment and Salary Classification

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