Oberster Gerichtshof; 2016-09-27; 1 Ob 104/16z
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2016:0010OB00104.16Z.0927.000
Date: 2016-09-27
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Austria

82016AT0927(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
A natural person resident in Austria (hereinafter the "plaintiff") sought the determination of the liability of a bank domiciled in Scotland (hereinafter the "defendant") by means of a lawsuit. As the defendant had manipulated the reference interest rate LIBOR, the plaintiff had incurred a higher interest expense on his loan as a damage.
The defendant raised the plea of international incompetence.
The Court of First Instance (Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen) rejected the action for international incompetence.
The Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht Wien) confirmed the decision of the Court of First Instance.
The plaintiff brought an appeal on points of law against this decision, which was admissible, but not entitled.
The Oberster Gerichtshof (hereinafter "OGH") mentioned two equal cases (¹), in which the defendant was the same as in this case and which related to Article 7(2) of the Regulation No 1215/2012 (²).
The plaintiff could sue either in the courts of the place where the cartel between the banks was founded or in the court where he has his residence.
This means that there is an Austrian court of jurisdiction. However, the plaintiff’s residence is not in the district of the Court of First Instance. Likewise, the Landesgericht Linz, in whose district the credit-granting bank has its seat and which should alternatively decide, is not competent.
The Landesgericht Korneuburg would be competent, in whose district the plaintiff is domiciled.
The OGH did not follow the plaintiff’s appeal on points of law.
(¹) Please, see 4 Ob 120/16z and 4 Ob 131/16t.
(²) Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, valid from 10.01.2015