Facts
The plaintiffs are the owners of a property in Lauerz. On the underlying plots, their former owner, Isidor Zürcher, constructed two semi-detached houses in 1990 and 1991, involving the defendant as the geologist. During the excavation work, there were repeated slope failures and instabilities, which affected the plaintiffs' property and their house in the second construction phase. The plaintiffs subsequently sued the defendant for damages.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the defendant is not liable towards the plaintiffs. While the defendant was contractually obliged to carefully carry out the site investigation, the geological and geotechnical construction supervision, and the monitoring of the excavation work for the building owner, these contractual obligations do not establish liability towards the plaintiffs as neighbours of the construction site. For this, it would have been necessary for the defendant to have a guarantor position towards the plaintiffs or for a special relationship of trust to exist between the parties. Neither…