Contractor Liability for Neighboring Wall Collapse During Excavation

A dispute arose concerning the responsibility for damages caused to a building by the collapse of a neighboring wall during construction work, where the contractor claimed the retaining wall was not part of the building structure and the owner argued the collapse was due to the excavation work, leading the Court of Cassation to quash the lower court's decision. The court reasoned that the lower court failed to establish the necessary causal link between the construction work, specifically the excavation, and the resulting damage to the adjacent property, necessitating further factual investigation to determine liability based on proof that the work was the direct cause of the neighbor's structural damage.