Facts
The Geneva lawyer X. was criminally prosecuted for money laundering, lack of due diligence in financial transactions, and forgery of securities. He was acquitted by the Correctional Court with a jury on October 8, 2004. X. had concluded a professional liability insurance contract with Insurer Z., covering his activity as a lawyer. After being acquitted, X. requested the insurer to reimburse his criminal defense costs, but the insurer refused. X. then filed a claim for payment with the Court of First Instance of Geneva, which was dismissed. The Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva confirmed this judgment.
X. filed a civil appeal to the Federal Tribunal against this decision, alleging a violation of Articles 33, 14, 61 and 70 of the Federal Law on Insurance Contracts (LCA).
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It considered that the harmful activity attributed to X. fell within his function as an administrator of offshore companies and not within his activity as a lawyer, which was the only one covered by the insurance contract. The Tribunal emphasized that the insurance contract clearly distinguished between the activity of a lawyer, which was covered, and the activity of an administrator, which was not. Even if X. may have provided legal…