Facts
X. leased a restaurant to [Y.] by contract dated 22 March 1991 for the period from 1 October 1991 to 30 September 1993. The annual rent was set at CHF 245,000.- plus CHF 12,000.- for ancillary charges, payable in advance monthly instalments of CHF 21,417.- on the 1st of each month. On 9 December 1992, [Y.] put X. in default for the payment of the rent due for December and granted him an additional 30-day period. On 11 January 1993, the last day of the period, X. paid the December rent by postal order, but the payment did not reach [Y.] until 13 January. On this basis, [Y.] terminated the lease on 3 February 1993 effective 31 March 1993, and then a second time on 12 February 1993 for non-payment of the January rent. The court of first instance and the cantonal court upheld these terminations. X. appealed to the Federal Tribunal.Considerations
According to case law, when the debtor pays his monetary debt through an intermediary such as the post office, the creditor's situation must not be less favourable than if he had been paid in cash. The payment is therefore only made on time if the payment order is given early enough for the procedure to be completed before the payment deadline. This principle also applies in tenancy law.
In the present case, the payment of the December rent by…