Facts
In a private contract dated 22 November 1993, approved on 17 December of the same year by the Court of First Instance of Geneva, Mr. acknowledged owing his wife, Mrs. M., a monthly pension of 15,000 francs for the maintenance of his wife and their two adult children, N. and A. On 31 March 1995, the wife accepted to receive only a monthly amount of 10,000 francs for the period from 1 March to 31 December 1995. On 16 October 1996, Mrs. M. had a payment order for outstanding maintenance contributions from October 1995 to October 1996 notified to Mr. Mr. objected to this debt collection, which was definitively lifted by the President of the District Court of Nyon. On appeal by Mr., the Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Court of the Vaud Cantonal Tribunal reformed this decision by maintaining the objection to the payment order. Mrs. M. then filed a public law appeal to the Federal Tribunal.Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, under Art. 81(1) DEBA, the judge can only admit the narrowly limited defences that the debtor proves by title. In the case of partial extinction of the debt, the definitive lifting of the objection can only be refused for the extinguished part of the debt if the debtor establishes the cause of the partial extinction and the corresponding amount by title, failing which the definitive lifting of the objection must be pronounced for the entire debt.
In the present case, the debtor has indeed established that his maintenance debt has been extinguished towards his daughter N., but he has neither alleged nor proven to what amount his debt is extinguished. The release title produced does not make it possible to determine this amount either. Since the debtor has thus…