Joint and Several Liability of the Contractor and Architect towards the Client

Facts

The owner of a swimming pool, Hans Kalbermatten, entrusted the construction work of a sports pool to the company Julius Theler. The work was carried out from June 1960 to September 1961. The owner paid advances totaling 170,000 francs out of a total of 220,090.10 francs invoiced by the company. The owner refused to pay the balance of 48,744.05 francs due to defects in the execution of the work.

The Valais Cantonal Court condemned the company to pay 38,586 francs to the owner, but dismissed the owner's counterclaim seeking repair of the defects. The owner appealed to the Federal Court, requesting repair of the defects and payment of damages.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the admissibility of the appeal and found that it was admissible. It then examined the joint and several liability of the contractor and architect towards the client and found that the contractor was responsible for repairing the defects.

The Federal Court also examined the issue of reducing the contractor's liability due to the architect's fault and found that the architect's fault did not reduce the…