Facts
A.A. and his son B.A. opened a joint account with C. SA (the bank), with individual signing authority. On June 5, 2013, A.A. ordered the transfer of 18 million euros from the joint accounts to an account of which he was the holder with his wife. On the same day, B.A. ordered the transfer of all the assets to his personal account. The bank refused to execute these conflicting orders.
B.A. then filed an action against the bank for the execution of his transfer order. Later, A.A. initiated proceedings against the bank, and then intervened in his son's trial, concluding that the latter should be dismissed (ancillary intervention), before also filing an action for the execution of his own transfer order (main intervention).
Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, Article 150(3) of the Swiss Code of Obligations applies to the joint and several claim resulting from the joint account contract. As long as none of the joint account holders have initiated legal proceedings or enforcement measures, the bank has the choice to execute the order of one or the other.
When one of the holders has filed a legal action, the bank can…