Appointment of an Expert Appraiser by the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau

Facts

A. and B. each hold a 50% stake in C. AG and D. AG. On March 22, 2005, they concluded a shareholders' agreement, which in Section 7.2 provides for a regulation in the event that the parties cannot agree on the sale price of shares. Accordingly, the party willing to sell can demand a professional valuation of the intrinsic value of the shares by an independent fiduciary, whose appointment is made by the judge analogous to Art. 12 of the Swiss Concordat on Arbitration, if the parties do not agree on this.

As A. and B. could not agree on the sale price of the shares, B. approached the President of the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau on October 21, 2013, requesting the appointment of an independent fiduciary to value the shares. The President of the High Court granted this request and appointed company F. as the expert appraiser.

Considerations

The appellant A. disputes the material jurisdiction of the President of the High Court and primarily requests the annulment of the contested decision and the determination that the lower court lacked material jurisdiction.

The Federal Supreme Court concludes that while the parties have agreed on an expert appraisal within the meaning of Art. 189 CPC in Section 7.2 of the shareholders'…