Facts
On 16 June 1982, the Enforcement Office of the Canton of Geneva awarded to Ms. Adrienne Szokoloczy parcel no. 3836 and the 79/1000 co-ownership share of parcel 3849, located in the municipality of Veyrier, for the price of 381,000 francs. Until the expiry of the payment deadline granted on 16 August 1982, the successful bidder intervened several times with the Office to obtain, in particular, the collection of any rent to be paid by the co-debtor in the enforcement proceedings for the realisation of the pledge.
Not accepting the successful bidder's complaints regarding the condition of the premises, the Enforcement Office notified Ms. Szokoloczy on 14 September 1982 that the auction would be revoked if she had not paid the balance of her debt by 30 September 1982. Ms. Szokoloczy then filed a complaint against this decision with the Supervisory Authority of the Canton of Geneva.
By decision of 1 December 1982, the Supervisory Authority dismissed the successful bidder's complaint and set her a final payment deadline of ten days, taking into account the suspensive effect granted to the complaint, under penalty of the sale of the property becoming void.
Considerations
The Federal Court considers that the Cantonal Supervisory Authority did nothing more, in setting an additional ten-day deadline for the successful bidder to pay the auction price, than to comply with a practice recognised by the Federal Tribunal as justified for practical reasons. Indeed, during the period of a complaint or appeal deadline, debt collection offices are in the habit of deferring the execution of a decision until the expiry of the deadline or until a decision is made on the granting of the suspensive effect.
Although the additional deadline granted by the Cantonal Authority goes beyond the duration of the complaint…