Facts
On November 13, 1986, the Court of First Instance of Geneva granted a four-month composition moratorium to the company E. SA, to which the Geneva Cantonal Compensation Fund was affiliated as an employer. The fund filed a claim for AHV/IV/EO/AC contributions of 105,829.10 francs with the composition commissioner and filed a criminal complaint against H. L., chairman of the company's board of directors, for an offense under Art. 87 AHVA.
On April 27, 1987, the Court of First Instance approved a composition by assignment of assets accepted by the creditors of E. SA. In May and December 1988, the liquidators informed the fund that no dividend could be paid to the creditors, even privileged ones, due to a right of retention exercised by the owner of the building where the company had its premises.
On March 15, 1990, the fund notified decisions on compensation for damages within the meaning of Art. 52 AHVA to H. L., R. B. and V. L., the latter two having been registered in the commercial register as secretary of the board of directors and authorized signatory of the company, respectively. R. B. and V. L. filed an objection, which was dismissed by the Geneva Cantonal Appeals Commission for AHV matters on January 21, 1991.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the fund's appeal. It considered that the fund had sufficient knowledge of its damage more than a year before March 15, 1990, the date of its decisions against the respondents, so that the…