Facts
The dispute opposes [B.], who claims to have received a bearer savings book belonging to his late aunt X. as a donation, and [D.], X.'s nephew and universal legatee. After X.'s death in 1989, [D.] brought a petition for inheritance action against [B.] to recover the savings book. The Court of First Instance recognized the existence of a donation of the book to [B.] by X. But the Geneva Court of Justice annulled this judgment and allocated the book to [D.] as the heir. [B.] then filed an appeal for reform against this decision.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed B.'s appeal. The cantonal court was able to validly examine the validity of the title of ownership invoked by B. (the donation) within the framework of the petition for inheritance action brought by D. Although [B.] is not in possession of the book, this does not prevent the introduction of the petition for inheritance action, as the bank held the book following D.'s intervention.
According to case law, possession of the property creates a presumption of ownership in favor of the holder. But the cantonal court found, after…