Facts
X. and Y. are the owners of neighboring properties in A. To enable Y. to access his property, they agreed that a double garage would be erected on X.'s property and that Y. would be granted a building right on one half of it. In a settlement agreement dated December 11, 1980, X. undertook to establish an independent building right in favor of Y. on the western half of the double garage.
Y. later filed a lawsuit to compel X. to fulfill this agreement. The Cantonal Court upheld the claim. X. then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that the granting of a building right on one half of a double garage is legally impossible, as the two halves of the garage are structurally and functionally inseparable. The double garage constitutes a single building structure that does not allow for a division of ownership within the meaning of Art. 675 of the Swiss Civil Code.
Consequently, the agreement of the parties dated December 11, 1980, whereby X. was to grant Y. a building right on one half of the garage, is null and void. The contested judgment, which obliged X. to fulfill this agreement, therefore…