Zurich: Manor dispute goes to commercial court
The legal dispute between life insurer Swiss Life and department store group Manor over the latter's flagship store on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse is entering a new round.
According to research by Handelszeitung the Federal Supreme Court has ruled in the last instance that the proceedings before the Zurich Commercial Court must be reopened. This was confirmed by a Manor spokesperson.
The legal dispute concerns the terms of the rental agreement, which is why the Zurich rental court initially dealt with it. In the second instance, the Zurich High Court ruled in May 2015 that the rental court had no jurisdiction. Swiss Life appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court. However, the Lausanne judges confirmed the opinion of the High Court and referred the rental dispute to the Commercial Court. This court is responsible for disputes between public limited companies.
Swiss Life has major renovation plans for the property, which are to be implemented from 2019. Manor would then have to give up the department store on the upper Bahnhofstrasse for good; the lease has already only been extended. However, it now seems unlikely that the insurer will be able to implement its plans according to schedule. It is still unclear when the Commercial Court will deal with the case. The ruling could also be referred to the Federal Supreme Court again.
In the meantime, Swiss Life wanted to sell the property to Maus Frères, However, the deal fell through due to different price expectations. (ah)
