A case in which a bunch of grapes played a decisive role has now made it to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) (VI ZR 1283/20). In November 2018, a customer wanted to go shopping in a furniture store in Kiel. She slipped on a bunch of grapes lying on the floor, fell and suffered such serious injuries that she ultimately had to have a hip endoprosthesis implanted.
She then initially sued for damages before the Regional Court and the Higher Regional Court. However, the Regional Court dismissed the claim after taking evidence and the plaintiff's appeal to the Higher Regional Court was also unsuccessful. One of the reasons given for this was that the furniture store could not generally be held liable for the presence of slippery food residues. Furthermore, it could never be ruled out that such hazardous areas could be found on the floor.
The Court of Appeal was also of the opinion that the plaintiff must first prove that the furniture store had not taken any safety measures. The plaintiff had not provided this evidence. However, the BGH takes a different view of the distribution of the burden of proof: the person who creates a hazardous situation - regardless of its nature - is generally obliged to take precautions to prevent harm to others as far as possible. The appeal judgment is therefore set aside and the case is referred back to the Court of Appeal for a new decision.
Source: BGH/VI ZR 1283/20
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