Dismissal of the complaint against the service of a payment order due to local jurisdiction of the debt collection office

Facts

The complainant [A.] was sued with a payment order in Bern on December 12, 2019. He lodged a legal protest and a complaint with the High Court of the Canton of Bern, which dismissed the complaint. The complainant then requested the annulment of the contested decision and the payment order from the Federal Court.

The parties are [A.] (complainant), [B.] and [C.] (respondents) as well as the debt collection office Bern-Mittelland, Mittelland branch. The amount in dispute is CHF 403,745.05.

The complainant claims that he lives in Croatia and that the service of the payment order in Bern is invalid. However, the lower court came to the conclusion that the complainant had a place of residence in Bern in the sense of Art. 48 DEBA and that the debt collection was therefore permissible.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the jurisdiction of the debt collection office Bern-Mittelland for the service of the payment order. It found that the complainant had a place of residence in Bern in the sense of Art. 48 DEBA, as he regularly stayed in Bern and had a close relationship with his grandchildren living in Switzerland.

The court rejected the complainant's objection that the lower court had not correctly carried out the examination of the domicile by the debt collection office. It found that the debt collection office must verify the creditor's…