Facts
By a publicly notarized contract dated April 5, 1968, the architects Rolf Marc Wildbolz and Erwin Huber sold Mrs. Schörg-von Guggenberger a 174/1000 co-ownership share in a property in Zurich with a special right to the three-room apartment on the top floor for a price of CHF 300,000. In the course of the construction, the buyer had various structural changes made at her own expense, which led to an expansion of the apartment. After completion of the construction, the sellers demanded the conclusion of a new purchase contract with a purchase price of CHF 548,000. Thereupon, the sellers refused the transfer of ownership.
Mrs. Schörg sued for the transfer of the co-ownership share to full ownership in accordance with the purchase contract. The District Court of Zurich and the High Court of the Canton of Zurich upheld the claim. The High Court also awarded Mrs. Schörg damages in the event that the transfer of ownership could not be enforced.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the contested judgment. The co-ownership share does not need to correspond to the spatial division. The mere determinability of the object of purchase is sufficient to meet the requirements of the Code of Obligations if a property is purchased whose development has only been planned or just begun. An agreement on the gratuitous nature of structural changes does not require public certification.
In the event that the…