Facts
The case concerns a claim for damages by the shareholders of [C. AG] against the Swiss Confederation due to unlawful measures taken by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (EBK) and other authorities. The shareholders, [A.] and [B.] , alleged that the EBK, the Federal Prosecutor's Office, and the Federal Criminal Police had jointly caused damage through unlawful conduct, leading to the forced sale of the bank at a price significantly below its value.
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that while the lower instance, the Federal Administrative Court, would have been competent to assess the claims for damages, these claims were ultimately unfounded. The loss in asset value of the shareholders due to the forced sale of the bank shares is to be qualified as indirect damage, which is not compensable under the principles of liability law.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court explained that while the alleged damage is a pure financial loss, it is to be qualified as indirect damage. According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, the damage caused by a decrease in the value of shares is to be classified as direct…