Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
A driver who switched to a humble Ford after his Porsche 911 was destroyed in a crash has lost a compensation battle over his “limited driving pleasure”.
Having to drive a Ford Mondeo seemed like a no-brainer for a man from the German city of Frankfurt – whose identity was not reported by media – after he lost the pleasure of driving his Porsche after a crash.
The man reportedly owned four vehicles, out of which two were used by his family members and a third one was specially equipped for racing and was not suitable for road traffic.
In addition, the fourth vehicle and the only one left for him to use – a Ford Mondeo Tournament which was used by the whole family for holiday trips – was reportedly “too bulky for city traffic” for the driver.
Angered by the outcome, the man decided to file a lawsuit against the driver who caused the accident, and demanded not only EUR 40,715 (GBP 34,968) for repairs but also EUR 4,612 (GBP 3,963) for compensation for “limited driving pleasure”.
But after the lawsuit failed to pass Frankfurt District Court’s strict criteria, the man decided to turn to the Supreme Regional Court.
However, even there he did not manage to convince the judges that a Ford Mondeo is not pleasurable to drive because of its “bulkiness”.
The Supreme Regional Court revealed in a statement obtained by Newsflash on 5th August: “The fact that the damaged vehicle, a Porsche 911, i.e. a sports car, is a vehicle from the clearly upper market segment due to its engine, performance and equipment, while the Ford Mondeo is only a middle-class vehicle, does not lead to any harm Unreasonableness of using the Ford Mondeo.”
The statement continued, stating that the necessary use of the Ford Mondeo instead of the Porsche 911 led “only to a restriction of driving pleasure”.
According to the court, such unreasonable damage is not liable for compensation, as otherwise there would be a risk of extending the obligation for the damaging party to pay compensation, contrary to legal assessments, to non-monetary damages.
No details about the crash have been disclosed.
The decision cannot be appealed.
