Facts
N. believes that her compulsory portion claim has been violated, as the purchase price of CHF 60,000.-- paid by her brother and sister-in-law for the acquisition of real estate in S. was far below the fair market value of the property inherited from their deceased mother. She sued for a reduction and demanded an amount of CHF 70,000.-- from each of the acquirers. The District Court K. dismissed her claim on December 21, 1993, as the claim was both forfeited and unfounded due to the lack of a gift component. The plaintiff also lost before the High Court of the Canton of Aargau, which, in a judgment dated January 26, 1995, also assumed forfeiture. The Federal Court dismisses the appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Court decided that for the commencement of the forfeiture period pursuant to Art. 533 para. 1 CC, the plaintiff's knowledge of the violation of her compulsory portion claim is sufficient. This does not require absolute certainty, but merely knowledge of the elements that allow the expectation of a successful reduction claim. The plaintiff must therefore only be aware of the fact of the violation of the compulsory portion, but not of its exact extent.
Furthermore, the Federal Court stated that the reduction claim must also be allowed if the plaintiff is not yet able to quantify his claim. This contradicts the cantonal procedural law, which does…