Action to deny a debt: start of the time limit and applicability of judicial holidays

Facts

The case concerns a dispute between company A. SA and company B. GmbH regarding the execution of a claim. After the provisional rejection of the opposition by the enforcement judge, company A. SA filed an action to deny the debt pursuant to Art. 83 para. 2 DEBA. The main issue concerns the calculation of the 20-day time limit for filing such action and the applicability of the judicial holidays provided for in the CPC.

Company A. SA argues that the 20-day time limit only starts to run after the unsuccessful expiry of the time limit to appeal the decision rejecting the opposition, while the Cantonal Court held that the time limit starts to run from the notification of the decision provisionally rejecting the opposition.

Furthermore, company A. SA believes that the time limit for the action to deny the debt should be suspended during the judicial holidays provided for in Art. 145 para. 1 let. c CPC, while the Cantonal Court applied Art. 63 DEBA on enforcement holidays.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considers that the Cantonal Court correctly applied the established case law, according to which the time limit for the action to deny the debt runs from the notification of the decision provisionally rejecting the opposition and not from the unsuccessful expiry of the time limit to appeal that decision.

Furthermore, the Federal Tribunal confirms that, by virtue of Art. 145 para. 4 CPC, the time limit for the action to…