Provisional seizure of assets belonging to a third party during the Christmas holidays

Facts

Niala Inc. filed a complaint to declare null and void a seizure executed on December 24, 1980 by the Debt Collection Office of Geneva on bank accounts opened in its name with the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBS). This seizure was ordered in the context of debt collection proceedings against Marcel Porquerel, the creditor General United Incorporated (G.U.I.) claiming that these assets actually belonged to the debtor.

The Supervisory Authority for Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Offices of the Canton of Geneva dismissed Niala Inc.'s complaint. Niala Inc. then appealed to the Federal Tribunal.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It considered that the act of December 24, 1980 did not constitute a seizure per se, but a precautionary measure of the type provided for in Articles 98 et seq. of the Federal Act on Debt Collection and Bankruptcy (DEBA). This intervention, aimed at preventing the debtor or Niala Inc. from having the assets held by the SBS returned to them, had a clearly provisional and urgent character, making it admissible during the Christmas holidays under Article 56 DEBA.

The Federal Tribunal also ruled that the Debt Collection Office could provisionally block, with the SBS, the assets registered in the name of Niala Inc. but which the creditor claimed belonged entirely to the debtor Marcel Porquerel. The Office's decision did not have to contain the details on the assets…