Crash with Richard's BMW

Lugner City sues Lugner widow: duel in court

It is about the accident involving the deceased master builder's company car.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Andreas Tischler, Anja Richter)

A few days after the death of master builder Richard Lugner, his widow Simone had an accident with his BMW in Favoriten. Lugner City is now claiming the garage costs from the 43-year-old. But apparently more was repaired than was damaged in the accident.

"I also drove the BMW when he was still alive. Apparently it wasn't a problem," says Simone Lugner, the widow of Baumeister, at the Labor and Social Court in Vienna. She is sitting there as the defendant. The plaintiff is Lugner City. It's about the accident that Richard Lugner's widow had with his company car. A few days after the death of the dazzling master builder.

Accident in the construction site chaos
On August 20, the former Lugner City employee was on her way to an appointment in Richard's BMW 7 Series. As is often the case for more leisurely drives, she did not take the Porsche that day. There was chaos at the construction site in the 10th district. Lugner wanted to make a U-turn - and the driver of a VW Golf crashed hard into her car. The 55-year-old chef testified as a witness at the ASG: "She made a turning maneuver to the left across the double barrier line, she didn't signal."  

An accident report was filled out and the 43-year-old handed it in at Lugner City. "That was the end of the matter for me," says Lugner. Until February, when she suddenly received a five-figure euro bill from the shopping temple, where Lugner's daughter Jacqueline works as managing director. Lugner City is demanding around 14,000 euros for the repair of the BMW. This is because the master builder's company car was not fully insured.

What's exciting is that damage that was not accident-related was apparently also repaired in the garage. The garage foreman, who was responsible for Richard's fleet of vehicles, also testified as a witness. He had gone on vacation at the beginning of August: "When I went on vacation, the car was tip-top - and a month later it was a disaster."

Simone Lugner with her lawyer Florian Höllwarth at the ASG this week(Bild: AR)

"Sometimes it happened to the boss too"
He can't answer exactly whether the other scratches and damage were parking damage or driving errors: "I think they happened on the narrow path down from the villa. There are lots of bushes and roses there. Sometimes it happened to the boss too," he speculates.

Lawyer Florian Höllwarth, who represents Simone Lugner, probes all the witnesses: "Did you know that Mrs. Lugner drove the car after her death?" he wants to know from the managing director of Lugner City: "We had other things to do in the time after the master builder's death," he denies. According to the expert, only 5645 euros of the 14,000 euros claimed are related to the accident. 

Employer's duty of care
Mr. Rat also points out to the plaintiff that employers have a duty of care in the event of insufficient insurance. Simone Lugner also had a non-cash benefit for the car in her pay slip. He encourages the parties to the dispute to enter into settlement talks again. This attempt fails for the time being, which is why negotiations are expected to continue in March. The labor law aspects will then also be clarified.