Facts
Hieronymus Georg Schaffner drafted testamentary dispositions in 1951 and 1952 in which he appointed his daughter Frieda Ember-Schaffner as sole heir and disinherited his wife Johanna Schaffner. After the death of Hieronymus Georg Schaffner in 1952, Johanna Schaffner filed an action for nullity of the testamentary dispositions with the District Court of Zurich, alleging that the deceased was not of sound mind at the time of their drafting and that the disinheritance of the plaintiff was not justified. The District Court declared the testamentary dispositions null and void with regard to the disinheritance of the plaintiff and recognized her as the legal heir. The defendant appealed against this judgment to the Supreme Court of the Canton of Zurich, which ultimately dismissed the appeals of both parties and confirmed the judgment of the court of first instance.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considers that the claim of a disinherited heir to obtain his or her compulsory portion is a special form of the action for reduction. With regard to this action, the executor of the will does not have standing to defend. The defendant was therefore right to refrain from asserting that the executor of the will should also have been summoned.
Regarding the statute of limitations, the Federal Tribunal notes that Arts. 135 and 137/138 CO on the interruption of the statute of limitations do not apply to the action for nullity or reduction provided for in Arts. 521 and 533 CC. Indeed, when…