Facts
H. as well as the companies I. Limited, J. LLC, K. Ltd, L. Co Ltd, M. Pte Ltd and N. Ltd (the claimants) have filed a declaratory action against A. and B. as well as the companies C. Ltd, D. Ltd, E. Limited, F. Limited and G. Limited (the defendants). None of the claimants have a domicile or registered office in Switzerland.
The Court of First Instance of the Canton of Geneva has required the claimants, jointly and severally, to provide an advance on costs of CHF 240,000. This decision was confirmed by the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva. The defendants then filed a request for security for costs, concluding that each individual claimant should be required to provide security of CHF 7,121,732.98.
By order of 12 March 2020, the Court of First Instance condemned each claimant individually to provide security for costs in the amount of CHF 120,500. The claimants appealed, concluding in particular that they should be ordered to provide, jointly and severally, security for costs in the amount of CHF 120,500.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal. It considered that the claimants form a simple co-litigancy, governed by Art. 71 CPC, and not a necessary co-litigancy. In the case of a simple co-litigancy, each co-litigant can proceed independently of the others and the attitude of one of them has no influence on the legal situation of the others.
Therefore, the judge cannot condemn the simple co-litigants jointly and severally…