Facts
On January 26, 1993, the Debt Collection Office of Morges served a payment order on X. at the request of Credit Suisse, Delémont. X. filed a complaint with the supervisory authority, arguing that Credit Suisse, Delémont, was only a branch of a company headquartered in Zurich and could therefore neither pursue nor appear in court on its own behalf. The President of the District Court of Morges dismissed the complaint, confirming the acts performed in the debt collection procedure in question. The Court of Debt Collection and Bankruptcy of the Vaud Cantonal Court also dismissed X.'s appeal.
X. then appealed to the Chamber of Debt Collection and Bankruptcy of the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the debt collection procedure and all acts performed within its framework. The Chamber of Debt Collection and Bankruptcy dismissed the appeal, but ordered the correction of the acts of the debt collection procedure in question, which inaccurately mentioned the branch as the creditor.
Considerations
The Chamber of Debt Collection and Bankruptcy considered that, although the Credit Suisse branch in Delémont did not have legal personality and could therefore neither pursue nor appear in court on its own behalf, the inaccurate designation of the party in the debt collection procedure did not constitute a flaw that would render the procedure null and void. Indeed, the debtor could not doubt the identity of the creditor, and his interests were not prejudiced.
The Chamber of Debt Collection and Bankruptcy also recalled that, according to case law, an inaccurate, improper, or ambiguous designation of a party only renders the debt collection procedure null and void if it is likely to mislead the parties concerned and if this has actually been the case. In the present case, the conditions for nullity are not met, as the debtor could not doubt the identity of the creditor and his interests were not…