FLUG REVUE March 2005: German airports get noise litigation relief

March 2005

GERMAN COURT OF JUSTICE DISMISSES AIRCRAFT NOISE COMPENSATION

By Volker K. Thomalla

The German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) in Karlsruhe issued a judgement in the middle of January that establishes a principle which has far-reaching consequences for German airports. A couple from Lohmar, a municipality close to Cologne/Bonn airport, had taken the airport operating company to court. The plaintiffs demanded that Cologne/Bonn airport should pay Euro15,200 to cover the cost of extra soundproofing on their home because of the aircraft noise emanating from the airport. The couple further demanded Euro54,467 compensation for the reduction in value of their property. The lawsuit passed through three different courts, the first two of which – the regional court of Bonn and the higher regional court of Cologne – decided in favour of the plaintiffs.

The airport operating company then appealed to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, which found in its favour and overturned the two previous rulings. Altogether, the legal proceedings had lasted over five years. The Karlsruhe judges determined that as long as an airport has legally valid formal public planning permission it cannot be required to pay any compensation in respect of aircraft noise. Since this applies to all German airports, the judgement is of the utmost importance.

It even covers airports that were built before formal public planning procedures existed, since, under an amendment to the Federal Aviation Act dated 1 March 1999, such airfields are deemed to have “notional formal public planning approval”. The Bundestag had passed this amendment at the time in order to create legal certainty.

In this judgement (Ref. BGH V ZR 72/04), the judges have departed from a line that had apparently been long upheld in German court rulings and which placed the well-being of the individual above the general public interest. This meant that outsiders were able to win absurd lawsuits banning cow bells from the Allgäu and imposing restrictions on the ringing of church bells on Sundays. The decision of the fifth civil court of appeal of the Federal Court of Justice is brave, but it sets a contemporary tone.

For Cologne/Bonn, the FCJ judgement is a welcome message, as another eleven suits were pending against this airport which last year handled over 8 million passengers for the first time. In view of the FCJ judgement, the airport operating company can now assume that these suits will soon be dismissed as well.

From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 3/2005

Last updated 12 February 2005

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