Facts
Hans T. was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company W. AG. In the spring of 1976, he resigned from the Board of Directors, with the publication in the Swiss Commercial Gazette on May 12, 1976. On July 13, 1976, the company W. AG was declared bankrupt, and the Compensation Fund of the Canton of Zurich suffered a loss of CHF 41,177.35 for unpaid parity-based social security contributions as well as administrative costs and dunning fees for the years 1971 to 1976. Based on Art. 52 AHVG, the Compensation Fund declared the Board members Hans T., W. B. and V. S. jointly and severally liable for this amount.
Hans T. filed an administrative court appeal against the decision of the AHV Appeals Commission, which had upheld the claim against him and obliged him to pay the compensation of CHF 41,177.35.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court states that Hans T. as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company W. AG caused the damage at least through gross negligence by not sufficiently taking care of the payment of the social security contributions. There are no exculpatory or justification grounds apparent.
With regard to the amount of the compensation claim, however, the Court specifies its case law: The liability of the governing body under Art. 52 AHVG does not exist for contribution claims that become due after the publication of the deletion of the position of the person concerned in the Commercial Register, as the person is no longer a governing body…