Facts
After the introduction of the so-called "East Approaches" on Runway 28 of Zurich Airport in October 2001, numerous landowners from the affected region requested compensation from Zurich Airport AG for the resulting diminution in value of their properties. The Federal Appraisal Commission (ESchK) awarded diminution in value compensation only for the part of the property that was directly overflown. Both the expropriated parties and Zurich Airport AG and the Canton of Zurich filed appeals against these decisions. The Federal Administrative Court partially overturned the contested appraisal decisions and remanded the matter for re-evaluation to the ESchK. The expropriated parties filed appeals against the decisions of the Federal Administrative Court with the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
In its judgment, the Federal Supreme Court held the following:- A landowner whose property is regularly overflown at a sufficient depth is entitled to compensation not only for the specific impacts of the overflight, but also for aircraft noise. The compensation is generally to be paid for the diminution in value of the entire property, regardless of whether the property is located entirely or only partially within the overflight corridor. Exceptions may be justified in the case of unusually large and/or multi-house properties. - The hedonic model of the ESchK for determining the diminution in value of income-producing properties due to…