Facts
On May 3, 1991, Max Gay-Balmaz requested the registration of a legal mortgage of artisans and contractors on plot no. 946 of the municipality of Vernayaz, in particular against the co-ownership shares of Roland Girod. On June 4, 1991, the District Judge I of Martigny authorized the provisional registration of the mortgage in the land register and granted Max Gay-Balmaz a deadline of three months to assert his right in court, under penalty of the registration becoming void.
On October 22, 1991, Max Gay-Balmaz filed an action against Roland Girod, requesting in particular the definitive registration of the legal mortgage. On June 25, 1993, the Cantonal Court of Valais dismissed the action filed by the plaintiff, due to its late filing, and authorized the defendant to request the cancellation of the provisional registration in the land register.
Considerations
According to case law and legal doctrine, when federal law provides for a provision relating to the opening of an action within a specified time limit, this issue does not fall under the cantonal rules of procedure. Thus, a peremptory time limit under federal law cannot be interrupted, suspended, extended or restored by virtue of the cantonal rules alone.
In the present case, the three-month deadline granted to the plaintiff to assert his right in court was a federal law time limit, which could therefore not be…