Facts
The public limited company X. had opened an account with Bank Y. The secretary of the board of directors C. forged a total of 20,600 Swiss francs to the debit of the company's account by submitting forged receipts at bank counters between October 1978 and January 1979. The public limited company X. then sued Bank Y. for damages.
The Commercial Court of the Canton of Bern dismissed the claim, as the bank as an agent had not violated any duty of care. The public limited company X. appealed against this judgment.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the contested judgment. It stated that the disputed exculpatory clause, according to which the risks of not recognizing forged signatures are borne by the account holder, was on the back of the signature card and was signed by the public limited company X. The wording of the clause was clear and, according to the theory of trust, left no room for dispute as to whether it was part of the current account contract.
The Federal Supreme Court left open whether Art. 100…