Facts
The Federal Court had to rule on an appeal in civil matters and a subsidiary constitutional appeal by the appellant [X.] against the decision of the High Court of the Canton of Zurich of 18 April 2013. The appellant and the respondent [Y.] are Swiss-Hungarian dual nationals and are involved in divorce proceedings before the District Court of Zurich. The respondent had required the appellant to produce a copy of the purchase agreement regarding a property in [Z.] and documents relating to the payment of the purchase price.
The appellant had appealed against the decision on production of documents to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich, which was accepted as an appeal. The High Court dismissed the appeal and required the appellant to submit the copy of the purchase agreement and the documents relating to the payment of the purchase price to the District Court within 10 days of receipt of the High Court's decision.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the admissibility of the appeal and came to the conclusion that the respondent's requests for production of documents were to be treated as mere requests for the court to take evidence. Accordingly, the disputed cantonal decisions constitute orders for the taking of evidence, which could only have been challenged at the cantonal level under the condition of Art. 319 lit. b no. 2 CPC.
The Federal Court decided that the appeal to the Federal Court was inadmissible because no irreparable harm…