Rejection of the pre-emption right of the appellant on agricultural properties

Facts

[Y.] is the owner of four agricultural properties in Niederried near Kallnach BE with a total area of 100'570 m2. With a view to selling these properties to the tenants, [Y.] sued [X.] (the appellant) with the claim that he has no pre-emption right of relatives (at double the yield value) based on Art. 42 et seq. RLRA. The Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland upheld the claim, which was confirmed by the Cantonal Court of the Canton of Bern. [X.] (the appellant) appeals to the Federal Supreme Court in civil matters and requests the annulment of the decision of the Cantonal Court and the full dismissal of the claim. Alternatively, he requests the case to be remanded to the lower instance.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal. It holds that the appellant has not proven that the properties covered by the pre-emption right are located within the usual local area of operation of his agricultural business. A distance of 20-25 km from the business center exceeds the usual local area of operation, even if the transport costs are less than 25-30% of the…