Oberster Gerichtshof, Urteil vom 27/01/2010 3 Ob 259/09y
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2010:0030OB00259.09Y.0127.000
Date: 2010-01-27
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Austria

82010AT0127(52)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The claimant, domiciled in Italy, who possessed both Italian and Austrian citizenship, requested the payment of a specific amount from the defendant, an Italian citizen whose most recent address was in Costa Rica, based on an agreement formed by the disputing parties after their divorce. The defendant argued that the statute of limitations under Italian law had expired. The Austrian court of first instance dismissed the claim. The appeal court allowed the claimant’s appeal and the claim. The defendant appealed to the Oberste Gerichtshof (AT).
The Oberste Gerichtshof dismisses the appeal.
Claims that derive from an agreement formed during the dissolution of a marriage represent claims stemming from matrimonial property regimes, for which reason the Brussels I Regulation does not apply. All proprietary relationships between a married couple that arise directly from the marriage or its dissolution fall under Article 1(2)(a) Brussels I Regulation (ECJ 27.03.1979, C-143/78, de Cavel, on the Brussels Convention). Because Article 3(1) Brussels I Regulation does not apply, the property rights to which the claimant has laid claim establish jurisdiction under Austrian national law.