Facts
The case concerns an old Graubünden house that originally belonged to Placidus S. After his death in 1912, his four daughters concluded an agreement on the use of the house on January 18, 1913. Among other things, it was stipulated that the passages in the house and the Veulta (cellar vaults) should be used jointly.
In the following years, the western part of the house was taken over by Christina R.-S. and the eastern part by Anna M.-S. In 1955, the two sisters were registered as owners of the respective house halves in the land register. After their death, the house parts passed to their heirs.
The spouses Guido and Frida R., owners of the western part of the house, claimed that they were entitled to a right of way through the corridors and the Veulta as well as a right of use of the Veulta based on extraordinary adverse possession. The siblings Reto and Christina M., owners of the eastern part of the house, disputed this.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the acquisition of the claimed easements by adverse possession was excluded. On the one hand, the property of Placidus S. was in the joint ownership of his four daughters until the registration of the adverse possession in 1955, so that acquisition by individual heirs was not possible.
On the other hand, the land register entry of the acquisition of ownership by adverse possession cannot have a prejudicial effect on the question of the acquisition of easements…