Facts
X. is a tenant of an apartment in Carouge. Between 1998 and 2006, he initiated several legal actions against his landlord Y. SA, prevailing in each case. In 2006, X. initiated a new action against Y. SA, requesting in particular the reimbursement of 30,160 Swiss francs in lawyer's fees paid to Mr. Poggia during the previous trials.
The Rental Tribunal rejected this request. On appeal, the Federal Tribunal had to rule on X.'s ability to claim reimbursement of these lawyer's fees.
Considerations
According to case law, when the law of civil procedure allows the prevailing party to be compensated for all necessary and indispensable costs incurred in a trial, this right alone applies, and it leaves no room for a separate or subsequent action based on federal civil law seeking reimbursement of costs by the opposing party.
In this case, the Geneva law in force until 2010 excluded the allocation of costs in rental disputes. The Federal Tribunal considers that Article 97 of the Swiss Code of Obligations does not allow…