Facts
This case involved a dispute between the shareholders Y. and Z. of the X. Group and the members [R.], [S.], [T.], U. and V. of the estate community W. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants, with the exception of [S.], had already unconditionally accepted the inheritance by interfering in the affairs of the inheritance. The Federal Court had to clarify in particular whether the application for a certificate of inheritance by the widow of the testator, [R.], as the executor, constituted an interference in the inheritance within the meaning of Art. 571 para. 2 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB). Furthermore, it was a question of whether the defendants [T.] and [R.] had also interfered in the inheritance by their election to the boards of directors of the testator's companies.Considerations
The Federal Court came to the following conclusion:- The application for a certificate of inheritance by [R.] as the executor does not constitute an interference in the inheritance, but is to be regarded as an administrative act. [R.] acted exclusively in her capacity as executor and not as an…