Facts
The dispute opposes P., the plaintiff, to I. AG, the defendant. On 2 November 1979, the Cantonal Court of Zug condemned the defendant to pay damages to the plaintiff for breach of a contractual obligation to deliver. On 25 January 1982, the defendant paid the amount due. On 16 June 1982, the plaintiff filed a new claim for damages for loss due to currency depreciation. The Cantonal Court partially admitted this claim on 21 August 1985, but the Higher Court of the Canton of Zug annulled this judgment and dismissed the claim on 23 October 1990.
The plaintiff appealed to the Federal Court, which did not enter into the matter.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the plaintiff had provided evidence of damage exceeding default interest. According to Article 106 of the Code of Obligations (CO) in conjunction with Article 8 of the Civil Code (CC), the burden of proof of such damage lies with the creditor.
The Federal Court also examined the notion of a presumption of fact that the foreign currency would have been converted into a strong currency in a timely manner. It considered that this presumption is a form of evidence and that the conclusions drawn…