Il governo delle riparazioni “antieconomiche” e l’art. 2058 c.c.

A recent decision of the Italian Supreme Court (no. 10686/2023) dealt with the question of the recoverability of "uneconomical" repair costs that are higher than the loss in value of the thing damaged by the tort or even the value that the thing had before the accident. The judgment is appreciated because it identifies the normative reference criterion in Article 2058 of the Civil Code, which allows for compensation in a certain form within the limits of a non-excessive burden on the injured party (as opposed to compensation for an equivalent). On the other hand, it is criticized to the extent that, when assessing the compensability of so-called uneconomic repairs, it relies on the fact that the injured party has been enriched by the increase in the (exchange) value of the repaired object, which in turn does not seem to be justified by the logic of a provision that, within certain limits, is intended to protect precisely the utility value.