Facts
On 2 August 1995, the owner of an agricultural enterprise, V, died, leaving behind an inheritance consisting of 18 hectares of arable land and a small forest. The legal heirs are his three brothers and sisters, X, Y and Z. W, the son of Z and nephew of the deceased, holds an agricultural capacity certificate and has been renting the enterprise since 1995. On 27 October 1995, W exercised his right of pre-emption over the agricultural enterprise at the yield price. The heirs contested this right and demanded a higher price for the enterprise.
The district court set the repurchase price at 500,000 Swiss francs, but the parties appealed. The court of appeal set the price at 570,000 Swiss francs, taking into account certain particular circumstances, including significant investments made by the deceased in the ten years preceding his death.
W filed a revision appeal with the Federal Court, requesting that the repurchase price be set at 324,800 Swiss francs. The heirs requested that the price be set at 1,081,673 Swiss francs.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of what is the determining period for taking into account the investments made by the deceased in the ten years preceding his death. The Federal Court considered that the determining period is the one preceding the exercise of the right of pre-emption, and not the one preceding the court's decision.
The Federal Court also examined the question of whether the investments made by the deceased in the ten years preceding his death must be taken into account to determine the repurchase price. The Federal Court considered that these investments must be…