Facts
On June 1, 1946, the Aesch/Lucerne debt collection office seized the disputed inheritance claims of Mrs. Lang-Waller against the estates of her father Leonz Waller and her brother Leo Waller. Since the debt collection office later learned that these inheritance claims did not actually exist, it replaced the seizure documents with blank seizure documents on September 6, 1946, which were considered as final certificates of loss.
The debtor, Mrs. Lang-Waller, filed a complaint against these certificates of loss, as in her opinion the debt collection proceedings should only have led to the issuance of final certificates of loss after the realization of the seized inheritance claims and the debtor's share in the inheritance of the deceased mother.
The creditors appealed the decision of the lower supervisory authority, which had upheld the complaint, to the upper cantonal supervisory authority and finally to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the rule that a final certificate of loss may only be issued after the realization has been carried out has an exception for the case of a completely fruitless seizure. In such a case, a blank seizure document is to be issued, which is considered a final certificate of loss.
The debt collection office was allowed to determine the non-existence of the disputed inheritance claims, as this determination was based on the report of the authority, which pointed to the legally binding dismissal of the debtor's lawsuit against the inheritance purchase. The blank seizure documents are therefore not to be considered null and void.
Neither the subsequently discovered insurance claim of the heirs of Leo Waller nor the…