Dismissal of an action for declaratory judgment due to lack of legal interest

Facts

The construction company Murer SA filed an action before the Federal Tribunal, pursuant to Art. 41 let. c OJ, requesting that the final distribution of accounts of the simple partnership City-Blécherette take into account the loss suffered by Murer SA in the execution of reinforced concrete and civil engineering works on behalf of this simple partnership. Murer SA alleges to have suffered a loss of CHF 1,941,949.50 due to extraordinary difficulties encountered in the execution of these works, and invokes the promise that the simple partnership would have made to cover its potential losses.

The simple partnership City-Blécherette refused to consider this claim, even though it is able to distribute a profit of approximately CHF 1,500,000 to its members after reimbursement of their capital contributions.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considers that Murer SA's claim cannot be upheld, as it does not meet the admissibility requirements of an action for declaratory judgment under Art. 25 CPC. Indeed, Murer SA does not justify a legal interest in an immediate declaration of the legal relationship it claims.

According to case law, such an action is only admissible if the plaintiff has a legal interest in an anticipatory declaration, when a…