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11.11.2017

Pre-emption rights – an unfailing source of conflict

In this briefing Christian Casanova highlights issues potentially arising from pre-emption rights in the sale of a co-property. In a judgment of 2 August 2016 the Federal Supreme Court had to decide whether the co-proprietor had validly exercised his pre-emption rights for particular parcels only in a situation where six parcels had been sold as an economic unity (Sachgesamtheit). The Court rejected an obligation of the co-proprietor to either exercise his pre-emption rights for all parcels or to otherwise completely desist of such an exercise. As a result, the co-proprietor was able to pick some of the parcels and the transaction as sale of an economic unity failed. This judgment exhibits the need to thouroughly analyse the propriety structure in real estate transactions and to integrate relevant third parties in time.