Facts
The case concerns the liability of the hotel Mirabeau SA towards the guest Elisabeth Zietz, whose jewelry worth 350,000 Swiss francs was stolen from a safe deposit box provided by the hotel.
Ms. Zietz had booked a room at the Hotel Mirabeau in Lausanne and rented a safe deposit box (safe) no. 14 there, in which she deposited her valuable jewelry without informing the hotel management. Her companion Walter Sergio Carlesi alias Carosso, who had also been assigned a room, gained possession of the key to Ms. Zietz's safe deposit box, stole the contents, and left the hotel on November 9, 1965.
Ms. Zietz then sued the Hotel Mirabeau SA for damages in the amount of 350,000 Swiss francs. The claim was dismissed in the lower courts.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court explains in its reasoning that the liability of the innkeeper under Articles 487 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) does not apply, as Ms. Zietz did not hand over her valuables to the hotel for safekeeping, but deposited them in a safe deposit box provided by the hotel. In this case, the legal relationship between the hotel and the guest is to be qualified as a rental contract for the safe deposit box, rather than a deposit contract.
The Federal Supreme Court finds that the Hotel Mirabeau had taken the usual security measures for the safe deposit box, as it had a bulletproof glass door that was open during the day and closed at night. The fact that the safe deposit box was…