Letzigrund: Partial victory for Implenia
Implenia has achieved a partial success in the dispute between the City of Zurich and Implenia over the wages for work on the Letzigrund Stadium: the Federal Supreme Court has overturned the rulings of the Zurich High Court.
According to a press release from Implenia, the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne has overturned the rulings of the Zurich Higher Court - but only on formal grounds. A substantive examination of the appeal had not been carried out.
Now the higher court in Zurich has to deal with Implenia's claim for payment for work on the Letzigrund stadium and the Hardau multi-storey parking lot. Implenia said it would "analyze the new situation" and comment on the next steps "in due course".
Total contractor liability dispute is relevant to the entire industry
Implenia and the City of Zurich are in dispute over the construction of the Letzigrund sports stadium. The city of Zurich, as the client, had expressed around 1,400 change requests, which, according to Implenia, cost around CHF 23 million. The work price was originally CHF 100 million. In the dispute over the settlement, Implenia AG quantified its total claims at CHF 129.6 million and filed a lawsuit demanding payment of the sum outstanding according to its invoice.
The Zurich District Court upheld Implenia AG's claim, but awarded it only CHF 340,000, taking into account counterclaims by the City of Zurich. Implenia appealed against this. In the appeal proceedings, it reduced some positions but maintained the claim in the reduced amount of CHF 20 million. This appeal was dismissed by the Zurich High Court in mid-September.
Implenia then filed an appeal with the Federal Court. The question of the total contractor's liability for the client's planning was of central importance not only for Implenia but for the entire total contractor industry, it was said at the time.
