Facts
X. is a co-owner of a single-family house in S., which is located in the southern approach path of Zurich Airport. Since the end of October 2003, Zurich Airport has been approached from the south during off-peak hours. X. filed a lawsuit against Flughafen Zürich AG, requesting a ban on overflights of his property below a certain minimum altitude.
The District Court of Uster did not enter into the lawsuit, as it considered itself incompetent as a civil court. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the appellant's appeal. Thereupon, X. appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that with the granting of the operating concession for Zurich Airport and the associated right of expropriation, it is established that the operation of the airport is in the overriding public interest and that associated excessive emissions must be tolerated in principle if they are unavoidable.
The private law claims for defense give way to the overriding public interest, and the affected parties must assert their claims in the expropriation proceedings. In doing so, they can also claim that certain…