Dismissal of the civil appeal against the maintenance of the opposition to a payment order

Facts

A. SAS filed a request for summary proceedings against B. SA, concluding with the payment of certain sums. This request was declared inadmissible and A. SAS then reintroduced its claim through ordinary proceedings.

B. SA also filed a claim against A. SAS, concluding in particular with the payment of a sum. The Civil Court of the Vaud Cantonal Tribunal ruled the conclusions of B. SA based on a ground other than the Unfair Competition Act to be inadmissible.

During a hearing, the parties concluded a court settlement, under the terms of which B. SA acknowledged being a debtor of an amount to A. SAS, but this debt would only be due once the fate of the offsetting claim of B. SA against A. SAS was definitively known.

A. SAS then requested the definitive release of the opposition filed by B. SA to a payment order, based on this court settlement. However, the judgment rendered in the proceedings opposing B. SA to A. SAS only ruled on the conclusions based on the Unfair Competition Act, and not on the contractual claim of B. SA.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal ruled that the judge of the release could not interpret the court settlement within the meaning of Article 18 paragraph 1 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. Indeed, the court settlement is assimilated to a judgment and the judge of the release can no more interpret it than he can interpret a court decision.

To constitute a title of definitive release, the court settlement must clearly and…