Glass falls and damages new car, property and tenant jointly liable for compensation

Glass falls and damages a new car, property management and tenants jointly liable for compensation

Compiled from: Zhifu Court, Yantai Intermediate People's Court

If a privately-owned car that has been purchased for less than a year is parked in an outdoor parking lot and is accidentally damaged by glass falling from the building's glass curtain wall, who is ultimately responsible for the damage?

Case Review

The plaintiff Zhang parked his privately-owned small car in the ground parking lot of a certain building in Zhifu District, Yantai City. There were other vehicles on both sides of his car, and there were no no-parking signs or traffic cones around. A glass pane fell from the outside of a top-hung window on the second floor above the entrance of the building, causing damage to Zhang's vehicle.

After the accident occurred, Zhang immediately chose to report it to the police. When the police arrived at the scene, they contacted the three responsible parties: Company A, the owner of the property on the second floor of a certain building; Company B, which leased the property; and the property management company responsible for maintaining the premises. The three parties acknowledged the occurrence of the car-damaging incident but mutually shirked responsibility. Zhang's attempts to negotiate compensation with the three parties were unsuccessful, so he had to pay for the vehicle repairs himself, amounting to over 20,000 yuan. At the time of the damage, it had been only nine months since Zhang purchased the new car, and the infringement caused significant depreciation of the vehicle. Later, Zhang filed a lawsuit in court, requesting the defendants to pay the plaintiff over 40,000 yuan in total, covering vehicle repair costs, appraisal fees, and the loss of vehicle value.

There are two focal points of dispute in this case: first, the distinction and identification between the exterior walls and windows; second, the plaintiff simultaneously sued the property owner, manager, and user, and when all three parties are involved, how to analyze and determine the allocation of responsibility.

The defendant, Company A, argued that the plaintiff should provide evidence to prove that the falling object in the case came from the exterior wall of the building; otherwise, the plaintiff has no right to assert claims against the defendant. Secondly, Company A is not the owner of the building, and the plaintiff should add all owners of the building involved as joint defendants.

The defendant property management company argued: They requested the plaintiff to specify which piece of glass, and according to the property management company's understanding, the glass that fell and hit the plaintiff's vehicle was not the glass curtain wall attached to the exterior for decoration, but the glass on a window of Defendant Company B that can be freely opened during use.

The defendant Company B argued: The exterior wall glass belongs to the public area and has nothing to do with defendant Company B as the user. The entire building's exterior wall is made of the same glass. The glass that fell and hit the plaintiff's vehicle was from the exterior wall, not from the windows that defendant Company B is using. According to legal provisions, the tort liability for damage to the exterior wall belongs to the owner, not the tenant.

The court held that if buildings, structures, or other facilities and their items placed or suspended fall and cause damage to others, the owner, manager, or user must bear tort liability if they cannot prove that they were not at fault. In this case, the fact that the involved vehicle was parked in front of the building and was damaged by falling glass from the building is clear and was confirmed by the court. Therefore, the focus of this case is on the allocation of responsibility among the parties.

The involved building's wall is entirely decorated with a glass curtain facade, and the exterior of the building's windows is also covered with glass of the same material as the curtain wall. The building where the window is located is owned by Defendant A Company and leased to Defendant B Company. When the glass on the exterior of the window fell, the window was still functioning normally, providing ventilation and lighting. Therefore, the window should not be interpreted as part of the entire building's exterior wall simply because the outside is covered with glass of the same material as the curtain wall.

The court does not accept Defendant Company A's defense that the exterior glass curtain wall is jointly owned by all the property owners and that all owners and users should be listed as co-defendants in this case. As the owner of the property involved, Defendant Company A failed to take timely, adequate, and effective protective maintenance measures for the property and shall bear compensation liability for the plaintiff's economic losses.

Defendant Company A claims that the use of Defendant Company B directly caused damage to the plaintiff's vehicle, but due to insufficient evidence, the court does not accept this claim. Defendant Company B, as the user, is not at fault. Defendant Property Company, as a property service company, still allowed or tacitly permitted vehicles to be parked in the area despite being aware of the hazards present, and should also bear certain compensation responsibility for the damage suffered by the vehicle involved.

Considering the faults of both defendants, the court, at its discretion, deems it appropriate for Defendant A Company to bear 70% of the responsibility and the defendant property management company to bear 30% of the responsibility. Regarding the plaintiff's claim for vehicle depreciation loss, as no evidence was submitted and all three defendants did not acknowledge it, the court does not support this claim. The court ultimately ruled: the economic loss caused to the plaintiff by this accident is more than 26,000 yuan for vehicle repair costs, with Defendant A Company bearing 70% of it and the defendant property management company bearing 30% of it. After the first-instance judgment of this case took effect, the defendants have fulfilled their compensation obligations.

Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

Article 1253

If a building, structure, or other facility, or an object placed or hung on it, falls and causes harm to another person, the owner, manager, or user shall bear tort liability unless they can prove that they were not at fault. After the owner, manager, or user has compensated, if there are other responsible parties, they have the right to seek recourse from those other parties.

Supreme People's Court Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Adjudicating Disputes over the Ownership of Individual Units in Buildings

Article 3

Except for the parts of ownership stipulated by laws and administrative regulations, the following parts within the building plot should also be recognized as the common parts referred to in Chapter Six of the second part of the Civil Code:

(1) The basic structural parts of a building such as the foundation, load-bearing structures, exterior walls, and roof; public passage areas such as corridors, staircases, and lobbies; ancillary facilities and equipment such as fire protection and public lighting; and structural parts such as refuge floors, equipment floors, or equipment rooms.

(2) Other premises and facilities that do not belong to the owners' exclusive parts, nor to municipal public parts, or to other rights holders. The land within the building plot shall, according to law, be jointly enjoyed by the owners as the right to use construction land, except for the planned land area of the entire building that belongs exclusively to the owner, or land occupied by urban public roads and green spaces.

[4] Author's Opinion

In recent years, there have been many incidents of injury and property damage caused by falling objects from heights, seriously endangering public safety. Falling objects from heights mainly come from building doors and windows, curtain wall glass, billboards, light boxes, and also from items discarded by high-rise residents or placed on balconies. On one hand, owners need to improve their awareness, not throw miscellaneous items out of windows, and regularly and strictly inspect their own windows, items stored on balconies, and hanging objects to prevent accidents before they happen. On the other hand, property management should also fulfill their responsibilities, regularly inspecting and investigating potential hazards in high-rise buildings and promptly repairing any problems discovered. Additionally, individuals should follow rules, avoid parking vehicles improperly, develop good habits of civilized parking, and exercise a high degree of caution regarding their own interests. Through the joint efforts of all three parties, the likelihood of falling objects from heights causing injury or property damage can be greatly reduced.