Facts
On October 2, 2020, five plaintiffs, including [A.] and [B.], filed a conciliation request with the Peace Magistrate's Office of Zurich Circles 3 and 9 against twelve parties, including [C.], [E.], and D. AG. They sought a declaration that the last will and testament established by the deceased F. is null and void or invalid, as well as a declaration that [C.] is excluded from the inheritance due to unworthiness to inherit.
The conciliation hearing took place on November 19, 2020, with not all of the defendant parties present. The Peace Magistrate then determined that the conciliation hearing had failed and granted the authorization to file the lawsuit.
[C.], D. AG, and [E.] appealed to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich, which upheld the appeals and did not enter into the lawsuit. [A.] and [B.] then filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first addressed the issue of the validity of the authorization to file the lawsuit. It stated that in lawsuits by multiple plaintiffs against multiple defendants regarding the invalidity of a last will and testament or the determination of unworthiness to inherit, simple joinder of parties is generally involved on both the plaintiff and defendant sides.
The conciliation procedure is intended to enable a…