Facts
Walter [L.] was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Walter L. AG. On December 9, 1982, the company was declared bankrupt. The Compensation Fund of the Aargau Chamber of Industry and Commerce filed its claims with the bankruptcy administration, which consisted of unpaid parity-based social security contributions as well as administrative costs, default interest, debt collection, and reminder fees. On January 13, 1988, the Compensation Fund demanded compensation from Walter [L.] in the amount of the total loss of CHF 251,879.65, while pointing out the reduction of the claim by the amount of any potential bankruptcy dividend. Walter [L.] filed an objection against this decision.
On March 11, 1988, the Compensation Fund filed a compensation claim against Walter [L.] with the Insurance Court of the Canton of Aargau. During the course of the proceedings, the collocation plan and the inventory, as well as the distribution list and the final account, were presented. The Fund then reduced its claim to CHF 74,732.70. The Insurance Court upheld the claim and ordered Walter [L.] to pay the compensation in the stated amount.
Walter [L.] appealed the decision to the Federal Insurance Court, requesting that the lower court's judgment be overturned and that "it be determined that the Compensation Fund's compensation claim is time-barred".
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court confirmed the jurisprudence that in the event of bankruptcy, the damage is generally sufficiently known at the time of the presentation of the collocation plan and the inventory. The Compensation Fund is not entitled to wait with the assertion of its compensation claim until it knows the exact extent of its loss. Rather, it is required to…