The Civil Legal Process of the Builder Jan Valihrach with the Congregation of Dominican Sisters

The Czech Congregation of Dominican Sisters was founded in Řepčín near Olomouc in 1889. The mission of the congregation was primarily to educate and bring up young girls in the spirit of St. Dominic. As the congregation was increasingly popular with the Czech population, the nuns had to rebuild and enlarge their monastery several times. The last reconstruction planned for autumn 1930 involved a new three­‑storey building that was supposed to be situated next to the monastery. The Olomouc builder Jan Valihrach undertook the construction, however, shortly before its completion the building suddenly collapsed. The builder Valihrach, along with the designer Josef Derrich, was accused of the collapse. While Valihrach was found guilty of the collapse of the building, Derrich’s prosecution was stopped due to his death. Valihrach denied his guilt, however, and subsequently brought a lawsuit against the Dominican Convention of Řepčín. He demanded a payment of the agreed sum for the building and also a payment of other debts from the past that had not been paid by the nuns. The nuns counter-sued and demanded compensation from Valihrach for damages caused by the collapse of the building. After examining the evidence and questioning the witnesses of both involved parties the courts concluded that both the builder Valihrach and the deceased designer Derrich were guilty of the collapse. In the case of the designer Derrich, the court recognized him as the implicit representative of the Řepčín convent of Dominican nuns at the construction. The judges ruled that the Dominican nuns should pay Valihrach just half of the requested compensation, which amounted to 333,300 crowns.

Keywords: Czech Congregation of Dominican Sisters; Monastery in Řepčín; Builder Jan Valihrach; Construction Designer Josef Derich; Religious Nun Jirina Behalova; 1930s; Building Collapse; Civil Law Trial; Financial Compensation