Dismissal of a partial claim precludes a later claim for the remaining amount

Facts

On September 30, 2019, the A.-Foundation filed a claim with the Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich against Bank B. AG for payment of CHF 100,000.- plus interest. Bank B. AG requested that the proceedings be limited to the question of res judicata. The Commercial Court dismissed this request, whereupon Bank B. AG requested that the claim be dismissed on the grounds of res judicata, or alternatively that it be rejected. Bank B. AG argued that the District Court of Zurich had already issued a legally binding judgment on the identical claim on March 29, 2016, when C. GmbH had asserted the claim allegedly owed to the A.-Foundation against Bank B. AG by means of a partial claim on January 29, 2014. The Commercial Court then, based on Art. 59 para. 2 lit. e CPC, did not enter into the claim, as there was a res judicata.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court states that in the case of a partial claim, in which only a limited part of a total claim is asserted, the legally binding dismissal of the partial claim generally precludes the claimant from subsequently claiming another partial amount of the same claim. This is because the court, in dismissing such a partial claim, must have examined the entire claim…