Facts
E. AG is the holder of an independent and permanent building right for the operation of the Gunzgen Nord motorway service station on the national highway A1/A2. In the course of the expansion of the national highway from four to six lanes, there were significant impairments of the operation of the service station due to the construction work, in particular due to closures and difficulties in accessing the facility as well as noise and dust emissions.
E. AG filed a complaint against the rejection of its compensation claims by the Federal Appraisal Commission and the Federal Administrative Court. The Federal Supreme Court partially upheld the complaint and found that there is a basic obligation to pay compensation for the excessive impairments of the operation of the service station.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that although the service station has a serving function as an ancillary facility of the national highway, this does not mean that any impairments from road works must be accepted without compensation. Rather, the civil law rules for the prevention of excessive emissions are to be applied by analogy.
According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, claims for compensation due to temporary construction emissions require that the effects in terms of type, intensity and duration are excessive and cause considerable damage. A…