Cases

Austrian Supreme Court: railway company not liable for stolen luggage

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 10 February, 2016 - 16:05

The plaintiff traveled by train with the Austrian national railway company ÖBB. She carried a large travel bag which she put on the floor of the aisle. The conductor orderd her to place her bag to the baggage compartment of the wagon which could not be observed from her seat. When she reached her destination she realized that her bag was stolen.

The claim for compensation was dismissed: the Supreme Court (OGH) held that the conductor's instruction to store tha bag in the baggage compartment did not constitute any obligation of custody on the part of the railway company .

CJEU Advocate General: National Enforcement Body must not take enforcement measures to pursue claims of individual air passengers

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 4 February, 2016 - 15:50

Upon reference for preliminary ruling lodged by the Dutch Raad van State (State Council), the Advocate General of the CJEU has delivered an opinion according to which Article 16 of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation 261/2004 only entrusts the National Enforcement Bodies (NEBs) with the task to secure general compliance with the Regulation but not to pursue individual claims. Individual claims should rather be pursued before the courts. A concurrent competence of courts and national Enforcment Bodies could lead to different interpretations of the Regulation and cause legal uncertainty.

German Supreme Court: mandatory tips on cruise ships have to be included in final the price of the arrangement

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 19 October, 2015 - 10:45

The defendants , a cruise operator and its German representative, had advertised cruises in a German railway journal. The indicated price "from EUR 799 per person" had a footnote which said that in addition, cruise passengers at the end of the cruise are committed to pay a tip of EUR 7 per person for each night spent onboard the cruise ship without complaint.

Australia: New South Wales Supreme Court decides on jurisdiction in hotel liablility case

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 23 May, 2015 - 13:33

The plaintiff was injured during a family holiday in Bangkok in June 2013. She was a guest at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and was participating in a Thai cookery class conducted by the Hotel when the floorboards on which she was standing gave way, causing her to injure her shoulder.

The defendant (hotel owner) sought an order to stay the proceedings on the ground that

Germany: operator of a hotel review website not liable for insulting postings

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 12 May, 2015 - 10:58

The plaintiff, a hotel company, sued the operator of a hotel review website over a posting which alledged that in the plaintiff's hotel the guests got "only bed bugs for the EUR 37,50 paid per night". The defendant's website offers the opportunity to post hotel reviews and rate hotels. A special software is scanning the postings for potential insult or defamation. Postings which are not blocked by this software get published automatically. Upon plaintiff's complaint, the defendant immediately removed the posting but refused to sign a cease and desist declaration.

Austria: Supreme Court decides on tour organizer liability for accident at local excursion

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 20 April, 2015 - 08:45

The plaintiff had booked a package to the Dominican Republic with the defandant. Defendant's terms and conditions provided that with regard to third party services (such as local excursions), the defendant was only liable for proper intermediation but not for the proper performance of the services themselves. Defendant's local representative in the Dominican Republic distributed weekly schedules to the guests containing various optional excursions.

Germany: two new Supreme Court decisions on air passenger rights

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 20 March, 2015 - 17:05

On March 17, 2015 the German Supreme Court (BGH) has passed two judgements with regard to Regulation (EC) 216/2004.

UK: Competion and Markets Authority action on seconary ticketing website shows results

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 9 March, 2015 - 11:05

A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) action has resulted in 4 of the largest UK secondary ticket platforms for music, sports and theare tickets – GET ME IN!, Seatwave, StubHub and viagogo – giving undertakings to build upon their existing practices and give improved information to buyers about the tickets listed on their sites.

These include:

German court: tour organizer not entitled to a general cancellation fee of 90 percent of the package price in case of no-show

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 9 March, 2015 - 08:51

According to the General Conditions of Contract of a German tour organizer, consumers had to pay a cancellation fee of 90 percent of the full package price if they didn't show up at departure. The cancellation fee applied regardless of the character of the package (air package, round trip, hotel and rental car) with the only exception of cruises to which a cancellation fee of even 100 percent applied.

CJEU: computerised booking systems must, from the outset, indicate the final price of each flight ticket

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 16 January, 2015 - 14:17

The German Federal Union of Consumer Organisations and Associations was challenging before the German courts the way in which air fares were presented in Air Berlin’s computerised booking system, as configured in November 2008: Once the date and airports of departure and arrival had been selected, the booking system displayed a table of possible connections. The final price per person, however, was indicated only for the connection pre-selected by Air Berlin or clicked on by the customer, and not for every connection shown.

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