Facts
On March 13, 1970, Georges Brügger purchased the inn "Gemsli" in Wilen-Walzenhausen, which he resold in December 1970. For both purchase transactions, he was represented by his father, to whom he issued a general power of attorney with the right of substitution on March 6 and April 30, 1970.
By contract dated June 18, 1970, the Lautenschlager spouses granted Georges Brügger a loan of CHF 50,000. In this contract as well, Brügger's father acted as the representative of his son. He also received the loan amount in installments on June 22 and July 21, 1970 and issued receipts for it. Since the agreed real estate collateral was not established, the Lautenschlager spouses terminated the loan on May 8, 1971 and demanded its repayment by June 30, 1971. In December 1971, the Lautenschlager spouses sued Georges Brügger for payment of CHF 55,000 plus 5% interest.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the effectiveness of the representation does not depend on the represented party informing the third party of the content of the power of attorney. The representative merely has to identify themselves as such to the third party. If the third party waives the disclosure of the authorization and is satisfied with the declarations of the representative, the effectiveness of the representation is assessed according to the content of the authorization transaction.
In the present case, Brügger's father had the authority to conclude the…