Facts
The case concerns the question of who is responsible for determining the market value of an agricultural enterprise in the context of the division of inheritance. In 1949, Franz Zust took over a family agricultural homestead in Sursee as part of the division of his father's inheritance. In favor of his co-heirs, his sister Marie Jäggi-Zust and his brother Georg Zust, the right to participate in the profits under Art. 619 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) was registered in the land register. In 1952 and 1956, Franz Zust sold parts of the land. Thereupon, Georg Zust demanded a share of the profits from these sales from his brother.
The District Court of Sursee and the High Court of the Canton of Lucerne had different views on how to determine the market value at the time of the division of inheritance, which is decisive for the calculation of the right to participate in the profits under Art. 619 para. 2 ZGB.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to Art. 620 para. 2 ZGB in the version pursuant to Art. 94 of the Federal Act on the Promotion of Agriculture (LEG) and the implementing ordinance provisions, the determination of the imputed value and the market value of agricultural homesteads in the division of inheritance is exclusively the responsibility of the valuation authorities designated by the cantons in accordance with Art. 7 LEG. These valuations are binding for the courts that have to assess a claim to participate in the profits under Art. 619 para. 2 ZGB.
The lower court was therefore not authorized to determine the market value itself with the help of a regular…