Facts
This decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal concerns the application of the simplified procedure provided for in Art. 343 of the Code of Obligations (CO) for disputes arising from employment contracts. The main question is whether this special procedure applies when the initial amount of the claim exceeds CHF 5,000, even if the final amount awarded by the court is below this threshold.The dispute opposes Mr. Häfliger, the claimant, to Mr. Hostettler. The Federal Tribunal must rule on Mr. Häfliger's appeal against the decision of the Cassation Tribunal, which considered that the simplified procedure of Art. 343 CO did not apply in this case, as the initial amount of the claim exceeded CHF 5,000.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismisses Mr. Häfliger's appeal. It considers that the simplified procedure provided for in Art. 343 CO applies only when the initial amount of the claim, at the time of filing the complaint, does not exceed CHF 5,000. It does not matter that the final amount awarded by the court is below this threshold, for example following a partial acknowledgment of the claim or a withdrawal.
The Federal Tribunal considers that this interpretation is in line with the spirit of the law, which aims to offer a simple, fast and in principle…