Facts
[K.] is a member of the association "B." and was banned from registration and breeding activities for two years by the central board of the association due to violations of breeding regulations. On 17 November 2005, [K.] challenged the decision of the association's tribunal dated 17 October 2005 before the civil court. The presiding judge accepted the statement of claim as a request for a conciliation hearing. After the unsuccessful conciliation attempt, [K.] was granted permission to file the claim on 7 June 2006. However, [K.] only submitted the substantiated claim on 6 December 2006, thereby missing the one-month deadline under Art. 75 CC. The cantonal courts therefore dismissed the claim due to the missed deadline.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the decisions of the lower courts. It stated that the request for a conciliation hearing dated 17 November 2005 had generally preserved the preclusive deadline under Art. 75 CC. Since under Art. 153(4) CPC/BE, the time limit for filing the claim is also shortened accordingly for preclusive deadlines shorter than six months, [K.] would have had to file the claim within one month after receiving the permission to file the claim on 7 June 2006. By filing the claim on 6 December 2006, [K.] missed the deadline.
The Federal Supreme Court also denied K.'s, who was represented by counsel, claim to protection of legitimate expectations. It stated that [K.] was aware of the one-month deadline under Art. 75 CC and had filed her claim based on it on 17 November 2005. At the latest after receiving the permission to file the claim on 7 June 2006, her attorney should have informed himself about the duration of the permission to file the claim and filed the claim in a timely…