Facts
By judgment dated May 6, 1980, the District Court of Arbon dissolved the marriage of the parties upon the wife's claim. It obligated the defendant to pay the plaintiff a monthly pension of CHF 1,200.-- pursuant to Art. 151 ZGB. However, it rejected the wife's request to secure this pension.
The defendant appealed this judgment to the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau and requested that the plaintiff's claim for a pension be dismissed. The plaintiff, in turn, filed a cross-appeal, requesting that the pension awarded to her be increased to CHF 2,000.-- per month and that the defendant be obligated to provide security for it.
The High Court dismissed the main appeal as unfounded. It partially upheld the cross-appeal, obligating the defendant to secure the pension of CHF 1,200.-- per month with a capital value as of October 2, 1980, of CHF 150,000.--.
The defendant has appealed this decision to the Federal Supreme Court, requesting that the award of a pension to the plaintiff and its security be waived.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first points out that the possibility of securing a pension pursuant to Art. 151 ZGB is unanimously affirmed in the legal doctrine. It relies in particular on the analogous application of Art. 43 para. 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) based on the reference in Art. 7 ZGB.
Furthermore, the Federal Supreme Court states that the requirements for an obligation to provide security are met if a concrete risk of non-fulfillment of the pension payment…