Facts
In the bankruptcy of Chyro SA, the bankruptcy office of Rorschach sent a circular to the creditors on July 2, 1977, proposing to mandate a lawyer to examine and possibly assert liability claims against the governing bodies of the Chyro SA staff pension fund, against the Municipal Council of Rorschach as the supervisory authority of the fund, against the supreme supervision of the cantonal government, against the auditing body of Chyro SA and against the Helvetia insurance company that manages the pension fund. The Municipal Council of Rorschach and the Cantonal Department of the Interior appealed against this decision of the creditors taken by way of circular, which was annulled by the cantonal supervisory authority.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considers that the bankruptcy estate does not have the right to assert liability claims that belong to the creditor (the pension fund) in place of the creditor. The estate has no more rights than the bankrupt would have if the bankruptcy had not been opened.
Although the cantonal supervisory authority annulled the decision of the creditors for other reasons, namely the inadequacy of the circular procedure, the Federal Tribunal considers that this annulment is justified on the merits, as the bankruptcy estate was not entitled to assert these liability…