Facts
The boy [A.] was hit in the left eye by a plastic arrow with a metal tip on a playground in Rheinfelden on March 22, 1985, causing him to lose the sight of that eye. [A.] subsequently sued the then 11-year-old [B.], the shooter of the arrow, for a declaratory judgment that [B.] was fully liable for the bodily injury.
The District Court of Rheinfelden and the High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed the declaratory action, as the medical consequences of the accident were already highly likely to be determinable at the time the action was filed in March 1986, and [A.] could therefore have brought a performance action. [A.] then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the lower courts. It stated that a declaratory action under federal law is only admissible if the plaintiff has a legitimate interest in the immediate determination of the disputed legal relationship. This is generally not the case if the plaintiff is able to demand an enforceable performance in addition to a mere declaration.
In the present case, the High Court had correctly determined that the medical consequences of the accident for [A.] were already highly likely to…