May 2024 is the fourth "Civil Code Publicity Month" in mainland China. The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, known as the "encyclopedia of social life", is the first law named after the code in New China, occupies a fundamental position in the legal system, and is also the basic law of the market economy. Zu Miaojun selected 10 classic cases to help the masses better understand and learn the Civil Code by explaining the law with cases.
The building materials on the exterior wall of the community fell off and smashed a car parked in the parking space by the owner, who should bear the loss? The People's Court of Yuzhou City, Henan Province ruled in the first instance that the property company should bear the liability for compensation. After the second instance of the case, the Xuchang Intermediate People's Court upheld the first-instance judgment.
The court found that in November 2021, Wen parked his car in the rental parking space planned by the community as usual. On the same day, the wind and rain were blowing, and the building materials on the exterior wall of the community fell off and hit Wen's vehicle, resulting in damage to the front windshield and front hood of the vehicle.
After Wen found out, he called the police, and after receiving the police, the police station ruled out man-made damage by checking the monitoring and on-site situation, and believed that it was caused by falling objects from high altitudes, and did not file a criminal case. Afterwards, Wen repaired the vehicle and spent 10,060 yuan on maintenance. Because Wen negotiated with the property management company to no avail, he filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the property management company bear the cost of repairing the car.
After hearing, the court held that the property rights of citizens are protected by law. The Civil Code stipulates that the property service provider shall, in accordance with the agreement and the nature of the use of the property, properly repair, maintain, clean, green and manage the common parts of the owners in the property service area, maintain the basic order in the property service area, and take reasonable measures to protect the personal and property safety of the owners. Where buildings, structures, or other facilities, as well as their shelves or hanging objects, fall off or fall, causing damage to others, and the owner, manager, or user cannot prove that he or she is not at fault, he shall bear tort liability. After the owner, manager or user makes compensation, if there are other responsible persons, they have the right to recover from the other responsible persons.
Accordingly, the Yuzhou Municipal Court ruled in the first instance that the property company of Wen's community was liable for the loss of 10,060 yuan of his vehicle.
What the judge said
The judge said after the trial that the detached cement blocks were part of the exterior wall of the community and belonged to the common part of the community. The property management company has the obligation to investigate and find various problems in a timely manner for the common part of the community, remind the owners to prevent various hidden dangers, and take measures to protect the personal and property safety of the owners, and also have the right to apply for a maintenance fund to repair the external walls and eliminate potential safety hazards. Therefore, the property management company was ordered to bear the liability for compensation.
Zumiao Micro News Editorial Group
Source: China Legal Popularization Network
Editor: Foshan News Network Yang Xiaoting
Review: He Jinting, Yang Rongyan, Wang Minghui
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