- Case:
- CP 1943. II. 2500 (1st case) Case Busquet v. Rozières Subsequent developments
- Date:
- 15 July 1943
- Note:
- Translated French Cases and Materials under the direction of Professor B. Markesinis and M. le Conseiller Dominique Hascher
- Translated by:
- Tony Weir
- Copyright:
- Professor B. S. Markesinis
Cour de cassation, Chambre civile
The Court:
In view of article 1382 Code civil;
In view of article 1382 Code civil which is in these terms: "Every act whatever of man which causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault the damage occurs to repair it";
Given that the person responsible for a delict or quasi-delict is bound to repair the entirety of the harm which he was at fault in causing, and that therefore the sum required as compensation must be calculated in relation to the extent of the harm on the day of the judgment or decision which vindicates the victim's right to compensation;
Given that it emerges from the judgment below that during the night of 19 to 20 February 1923 the outer wall of the village of Espeins collapsed, bringing down with it the wine-storehouse of the Rozières and damaging the residence of Busquets which depended on it; Given that in a lawsuit brought against the Rozières by the Busquets the Court of Appeal found on 23 January 1935 that the defendants were entirely to blame for the collapse of the village wall, owing to their having weakened it by their building operations, and were consequently responsible for the damage to the plaintiffs' residence;
Given that the damages awarded by the court covered only the resale value of their building prior to the accident, on the ground that they can easily replace it by buying another, and that in so deciding, without taking account of all the elements of the harm subsisting at the date of the decision, the court has failed to provide its decision with any legal basis;
For these reasons QUASHES the decision …
Doctrine upheld continuously: See in particular Civ 2, 21 Mar. 1983, Bull. II, no. 88: “The right of the victim of an accident to obtain reparation for the harm suffered exists as soon as the loss has been caused, but measurement of the loss must be carried out by the court when it gives judgement” (see in particular C2, 24/06/1998, Bull II, no. 226).
This page last updated Thursday, 15-Dec-2005 09:05:51 CST. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.