Facts
By contract dated February 19, 1981, the plaintiff W. as the building owner assigned various architectural work for the construction of a single-family house to the architect R. They agreed on a lump-sum compensation of CHF 32,000 and declared the SIA Standard 102 (1969 edition), with the exception of Articles 5.5 and 6.1, to be an integral part of the contract.
On May 12, 1981, the defendant prepared an "approximate cost estimate" that provided for total construction costs of CHF 507,600. On June 16, 1981, this was replaced by another "approximate cost estimate" that calculated total construction costs of CHF 440,700 (excluding the garage of CHF 26,000).
The plaintiff claimed damages of CHF 100,000, which had arisen due to a cost overrun of 30 to 50% and for which the defendant was responsible. The Cantonal Court of St. Gallen ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff CHF 51,000 plus interest.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal and confirms the contested judgment.
If the cost estimate is exceeded and the architect is responsible for this, a distinction must be made as to whether the additional costs are due to additional costs or to inaccuracy of the estimate or lack of cost control. Liability for contractually caused additional costs exists regardless of the preparation of a cost estimate; the architect must compensate for these additional…