Mr Pioneer rented out his limousine to Miss Pearl, a known sex worker, on a month-to-month basis for €2,000. After the first month, Mr Pioneer's employees, who are responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle, informed him that they have come across evidence which suggests that the vehicle is being used for the purposes of Miss Pearl's profession. Six months have since lapsed and Miss Pearl failed to pay last month's rent for the use of the vehicle. Can Mr Pioneer recover the unpaid amount?

Variation: Would it make a difference if Mr Pioneer had raised the rent of the vehicle to €3,000 per month after confirming that the vehicle was being used for Miss Pearl's profession?

Case Reference: Pearce v. Brooks [1866] Lr 1 Ex 213.

AUSTRIA

OPERATIVE RULES

Mr Pioneer can recover the unpaid amount.

Variation: Mr Pioneer might not be able to recover the full amount.

DESCRIPTIVE FORMANTS

Recent Supreme Court decisions on a comparable issue do not exist. However, it is almost evident that the assessment would basically be analogous to that of Case 1. In its 1989 case on sex work contracts, the Supreme Court ruled that a contract for renting out sauna rooms to a nightclub client is void on the ground of “immorality” because this contract enabled the performance of sex work activities and generating profit therefrom. However, after changing its approach to sex work contracts in 2012, the Supreme Court would most certainly consider such a renting agreement valid, irrespective of whether it is entered by the client or – as in the case of Miss Pearl's limousine – by the sex worker herself. This assumption can be backed by the argumentation employed by the Supreme Court in its 2012 case, in which it concluded that if an enforceable claim for the payment of money arises from a sex work contract (which is the only relation where a person's dignity and sexual integrity is at stake), the same must apply to a contract between the client and the nightclub owner (who, in turn, pays the sex worker). Accordingly, renting out a limousine to a sex worker would be treated as any other leasing contract today.