Facts
In October 1982, B.'s assets deposited with a bank in Geneva were subject to a blocking measure. S. was tasked with obtaining the lifting of this measure, which he succeeded in doing. In January 1983, B. signed a document promising to pay S. 15% of his annual profits for at least 25 years, in compensation for the efforts made by S. to recover his assets. B. made a single payment of 80,000 francs in November 1983. From 1983 to 1990, S. worked for companies of the B. group created and administered in Switzerland.
On May 2, 1994, S. filed an action against B. in Geneva to obtain the payment of 1,153,000 francs. The court of first instance and the cantonal court dismissed the claim, considering that the claim was time-barred.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal held that two limitation periods had to be distinguished: the five-year period for periodic benefits (Art. 128 CO) and the ten-year period for the underlying legal relationship (Arts. 127 and 131(1) CO). The cantonal judges had therefore misapplied these rules.
Indeed, the annual periodic benefits were time-barred for the terms prior to May 2, 1989, i.e., five years before the filing of the action. As for the underlying legal relationship, it had…