Facts
The applicants, [A.A.] and [B.A.] , asserted claims for damages and compensation against the employer of the deceased, [C.A.] , the husband and father of the applicants, respectively, [D. AG] , after his death. Following an unsuccessful mediation proceeding, the applicants requested the District Court of Hochdorf to order the defendant to pay a total of CHF 664,463.50 plus interest. The District Court dismissed the complaint. The applicants appealed to the Cantonal Court of Lucerne and requested that the judgment be overturned, that the defendant's liability be affirmed, and that the defendant be ordered to pay a total of CHF 664,463.50 plus interest. Furthermore, they requested free legal aid for the appeal proceedings. The Cantonal Court denied the request for free legal aid, as it considered the appeal to be without prospects of success.
The applicants requested the Federal Court to overturn the Cantonal Court's decision and remand the case to it with the instruction to grant them full free legal aid for the appeal proceedings. They also requested free legal aid for the federal court proceedings.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the lower court had rightly denied free legal aid. It found that the applicants had based their appeal essentially on the grounds that the court of first instance had violated procedural principles by assuming that the employee had been provided with suitable tools in the form of a smaller angle grinder.
The Federal Court concluded that the lower court had wrongly assessed the applicants' procedural arguments as not being promising. It found that…