Exercise of Easements by Customers and Visitors of the Defendant

Facts

The dispute concerns the content and scope of the easements registered in the land register as "prohibition of construction, basement, storage, and fencing" and "right of use of the courtyard". Specifically, it is about whether the easements include the long-term parking of vehicles and whether customer traffic to the defendant's commercial properties is permissible.

The Federal Supreme Court concludes that the easements do not entitle to the long-term parking of vehicles, but only allow for short-term parking for the loading and unloading of goods and passengers. However, the "right of use of the courtyard" also extends to the defendant's customer traffic, insofar as it is caused by the commercial activities carried out on its properties.

Considerations

According to Art. 738 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), the land register entry is primarily decisive for the interpretation of the easements. Since this is not unambiguous, the reason for acquisition, i.e., the statements of the owners recorded in the easement settlement procedure, can be referred to.

The Federal Supreme Court interprets the reason for acquisition to the effect that the "general right of use" of the courtyard does not include the entitlement to long-term parking of vehicles, but does allow for…