Abstract
In a rural area several owners of fruit trees sprayed their trees with a pesticide and thereby breached a prohibition on spraying when the trees were in bloom. Scores of bees of different bee-keepers who lived in the area thus died when they came into contact with the poison. Six bee-keepers assigned their possible claims for damages to the local bee-keepers’ association, which thereupon sued five fruit tree owners for damages.
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References
In this respect see, in particular, Bodewig, Probleme alternativer Kausalität bei Massenschäden, AcP 185 (1985) 505, 525 ff.; J. Zätzsch, Kausalitätsprobleme bei deliktischen Massenschäden, ZVglRWiss 93 (1994) 177, 193.
Cf. K. Larenz/ C.-W. Canaris, Lehrbuch des Schuldrechts, vol. II/2 (13th ed. 1994) 579 f.; Bodewig, AcP 185 (1985) 525 ff.
See further Bodewig, AcP 185 (1985) 505, 531 ff.; C. v. Bar, Empfehlen sich gesetzgeberische Maßnahmen zur rechtlichen Bewältigung der Haftung für Massenschäden? in: Verhandlung des 62. Deutschen Juristentages I (1998) A 57 ff.; O. de Lousanoff, ‘Market Share’ Liability — Die neueste Entwicklung im amerikanischen Recht der Prozenthaftung, RIW 1993, 145, 151 f.; Zätzsch, ZVglRWiss 93 (1994) 188 ff.; I. Klinge van Rooij/E. Snijder, Auf dem Weg zu einem neuen Produkthaftungsrecht, EuZW 1993, 569, 571 ff.; H.-P. Westermann/O. May, Alternative Kausalität in der Arzneimittelhaftung, DZWir 1993, 257, 260 f.; E. Deutsch, Allgemeines Haftungsrecht (2nd ed. 1996) no. 532 ff.
See among others the criticism by R. de Ángel Yagüez, Comentario del artículo 1902, in: I. Sierra Gil de la Cuesta (ed.), Comentario del Código Civil, vol. VIII (2000) 423, A. Cabanillas Sánchez, La reparación de los daños al medio ambiente (1996) 85 and E. Moreno Trujillo, La responsabilidad civil por deterioro del medio ambiente, in: G. Gómez Orfanel (ed.), Derecho del medio ambiente (1995) 53.
RJ 1990, 8053.
The reasoning of the decision seems to focus on issues of adequate causation, whereas finally the judgment concluded that causation in fact had not been established. For further details see the comment by M.A. Parra Lucán, Responsabilidad de los daños producidos como consecuencia de la contaminación de las aguas, Poder Judicial 1991, 112.
JUR 2003, 58544. A brief account of the case can be found in A. Ruda, La responsabilidad por cuota de mercado a juicio, InDret 2003, Working Paper no. 147, 4 (<www.indret.com>).
Based on the Dutch case Hoge Raad, 9 October 1992, NJ 1994, 535 (DES daughters) see 6a/8 no. 1-5.
See J. Spier, in: European Group on Tort Law (ed.), Principles of European Tort Law (2005) Art. 3:103 no. 11. The case was decided by the Dutch Hoge Raad. The court held that the interests of the injured DES-daughters should prevail over the interests of the manufacturers even though no specific causation by any of the manufacturers was proved. Under Dutch law, an injured daughter could claim in full from any of the manufacturers who had marketed wrongfully an unreasonable unsafe drug.
See the Spanish case TS 19 June 1980, RJ 1980, 2410 (6d/10 no. 1–4).
Cf. H. Koziol, Österreichisches Haftpflichtrecht I (3rd ed. 1997) no. 3/45 ff.
Bodewig, Probleme alternativer Kausalität bei Massenschäden, AcP 185 (1985) 528 f.; K. Larenz/C.-W. Canaris, Lehrbuch des Schuldrechts, vol. II/2 (13th ed. 1994) 579 f.; H. Koziol, Österreichisches Haftpflichtrecht I (3rd ed. 1997) no. 3/39 ff.
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(2007). Damage Caused to Less Than All Victims by One or More Possibly Harmful Events. In: Essential Cases on Natural Causation. Digest of European Tort Law, vol 1. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-36958-6_10
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