Facts
As members of the Swiss Association of Painters and Plasterers (SMGV), Hans Buess and various employees of his company, Malerei Buess AG, were subject to the AHV supplementary insurance of the Community Foundation for Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance in the Swiss Trade. After Buess AG had established its own staff welfare foundation, it applied for exemption from the insurance obligation, which was granted. The Compensation Office then transferred the total amount of CHF 25,950.-- to Buess AG. This consisted of the full refund value in favor of Hans Buess, who was leaving the association as a member, and the sum of the personal contributions made by the employees. The staff welfare foundation of Buess AG did not agree with the compensation of the employees and requested a subsequent payment of a total of CHF 18,343.--. However, this request was rejected.
The affected beneficiaries of the staff welfare foundation, the staff welfare foundation itself, and Malerei Buess AG then turned to the Federal Social Insurance Office and demanded that the Community Foundation be instructed to transfer the amount of CHF 18,343.-- plus interest to the staff welfare foundation. However, the Federal Office and later also the Federal Department of the Interior (EDI) rejected this request.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the beneficiaries can in principle also assert their claims against the Community Foundation under civil law. However, the supervisory authority (EDI) may only compel the foundation to recognize and pay the claim without a court decision if the claim asserted is obvious.
In the present case, however, the claims of the beneficiaries do not appear to be obvious. In particular, it must be taken into account that at the…