In the Corona long-term cause Ischgl, the consumer protection association (VSV) brought a class action lawsuit for 121 Covid-infected people against the Republic of Austria and the state of Tyrol at the Innsbruck Regional Court with a value in dispute of almost 3.4 million euros. Those affected come from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the USA, the VSV announced on Wednesday.
Together with the already pending and new individual lawsuits from legal expenses insurance, around seven million euros would be asserted, explained VSV chairman Peter Kolba. He had recently asked the Finanzprokuratur as the representative of the Republic of Austria and the Tyrolean Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP) to waive the statute of limitations for claims by people who were apparently infected in the winter sports resort by February 28, but this did not happen. Otherwise, a class action lawsuit will be filed. Because the claims of vacationers would become statute-barred on March 5 of this year. According to the VSV, the fundamental decision of the Supreme Court (OGH), which is expected in the next few weeks, should be awaited.
But the state of Tyrol “flatly rejected it,” said Kolba. The Finanzprokuratur, as the Republic’s attorney, still gave approval in December 2022, but set “unacceptable conditions” in the subsequent negotiations. Tyrol has now had to be sued “as a precaution”, although the legal opinion with the state is that the Republic of Austria is liable for all mistakes by the authorities, Kolba says he is surprised at the “Tyrolean stubbornness”.
In September 2020, the consumer protection association had filed the first official liability suits against the Republic, but the regional court for civil matters in Vienna rejected them on the grounds that the Republic was “neither culpable nor illegal behavior to be blamed for the periods in question”. In July of the previous year, the Vienna Higher Regional Court (OLG) overturned this judgment because it was afflicted with findings. The case was referred back to the Regional Court for Civil Matters for additional proceedings and a new decision.
The Finanzprokuratur has meanwhile filed an appeal against the decision of the Higher Regional Court. According to the VSV, she is of the opinion that any errors in communication to the media cannot be attributed to the federal government, but only to the state of Tyrol.