Facts
On January 16, 1996, Bank B. granted A. a mortgage loan of 940,000 francs, increasing the credit limit from 460,000 to 1,400,000 francs. As security for this credit, A. assigned to the bank two mortgage deeds, one for 1,040,000 francs at a maximum interest rate of 8% and the other for 370,000 francs at a maximum interest rate of 10%, encumbering a plot of land in first and second ranks.
After terminating the credit and putting A. in default, the bank initiated two enforcement proceedings for the realization of the real estate pledge. The objections were temporarily lifted up to the amounts of the mortgage deeds, i.e., 370,000 francs with 10% interest and 1,040,000 francs with 5% interest.
During the realization, the bank was registered in the schedule of charges for a total amount of 1,916,740 francs, corresponding to the nominal value of the two mortgage deeds, with the agreed interest rates of 8% and 10%. A. contested this schedule of charges, arguing that the interest should have been calculated according to the rates and periods retained in the decisions to lift the objections.
Considerations
The Court considered that when a creditor receives a mortgage deed as security, a distinction must be made between the abstract claim incorporated in the title (the mortgage claim) and the causal claim resulting from the underlying contractual relationship (the secured claim). In the enforcement proceedings for the realization of the pledge, the creditor can assert the mortgage claim in full, including the interest at the agreed rates, as long as the total amount of this claim does not exceed that of the secured claim.
In this case, the bank's total claim based on the underlying contractual relationship amounted to 3,352,887 francs, while the total amount…