Owner v. Facade Maintenance Contractor: Liability for Falling Concrete

An owner of a building, who had contracted with an enterprise for exterior facade maintenance, sued the enterprise after a large piece of concrete fell from the building, causing injury to a passerby and leading to the owner's subsequent civil liability toward the injured party. The court of cassation upheld the lower court's decision, reasoning that the contractor, having undertaken the work of maintenance, was responsible for ensuring the safety of the work site and the public, and thus could not escape liability by arguing that the deterioration of the facade was an inherent vice of the structure, as the contractor's duty included the obligation to ensure the stability of the elements being worked upon or adjacent thereto that posed a risk to third parties during the execution of the work.