Facts
On November 7, 2001, bankruptcy was declared over A. SA in Brussels. The Belgian bankruptcy decree was recognized in Switzerland on December 3, 2002, and an auxiliary bankruptcy was opened. A. SA in bankruptcy filed claims totaling over 112 million Swiss francs in the composition proceedings of the B. Corporation in the years 2002, 2006, and 2014. The liquidator rejected these claims by a collocation order dated May 10, 2016.
The auxiliary bankruptcy estate A. subsequently filed a collocation claim with the District Court of Bülach. The District Court and the High Court of the Canton of Zurich partially dismissed the claim. Both the auxiliary bankruptcy estate A. and the estate of the B. Corporation filed appeals against these decisions with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that a foreign bankruptcy estate is not entitled to file a claim in a Swiss bankruptcy without recognition of the foreign bankruptcy decree. The claims filed by A. SA in bankruptcy before the recognition of the bankruptcy decree and the opening of the auxiliary bankruptcy belonged to the auxiliary bankruptcy estate after the opening of the auxiliary bankruptcy. However, the auxiliary bankruptcy estate was not entitled to assert these claims in the composition…