Facts
In the bankruptcy of Continental Uhrenfabrik AG in Sissach, Jürg Hinnen, domiciled in Singapore, asserted through his representative a claim of CHF 269,673.24 for non-performance of an exclusive agency contract. This claim was the subject of a lawsuit pending in Singapore at the time of the opening of the bankruptcy. The bankruptcy administration rejected this claim in the collocation schedule, which Hinnen contested before the District Court of Sissach. Hinnen subsequently withdrew his application to contest the collocation schedule, considering that he preferred to pursue the lawsuit in Singapore. The District Court then closed the proceedings. The bankruptcy administration then informed Hinnen that due to the withdrawal of his application, he would not participate in the distribution of the bankruptcy estate. Hinnen appealed against this decision.Considerations
The SCC dismisses the appeal. It considers that the decision of the bankruptcy administration to exclude Hinnen's claim is not null, but only voidable. Hinnen should have attacked this decision within the time limit provided for in Art. 17(2) DEBA. Since he did not do so, the dispute over the inclusion of his claim in the distribution of the assets must be settled within the framework of the contestation procedure of the collocation schedule according to Art. 250 DEBA. The withdrawal of the application to contest the collocation schedule by…