Viola Amherd pays to rest – Switzerland: standard

Around 250,000 francs: that’s how much should be Viola Amherd and pay her sister to a company that, according to a court ruling, had overpaid rent for years. The “Walliser Bote” made the case public in October 2018 – just in the phase when the then CVP National Councilor Amherd for her election in the Federal Council fought.

As is well known, Amherd made it to the Federal Councilor in spite of the headlines generated by the rent dispute – but this did not end there. Specifically, it is a judgment of the district court of Brig VS, which accuses the Amherd community of heirs of having “enriched themselves unjustifiably”. A subsidiary of the Alpiq group had sued, and the Amherd sisters had rented several properties in Upper Valais for many years.

Amounts reclaimed

According to the company, rents were paid too high for over a decade due to a mistake. The company reclaimed amounts that the Amherds did not want to pay. A legal dispute ensued and, as a result, the Verdict of the Briger District Court in May 2018, which ordered the community of heirs to pay the quarter of a million. A bitter defeat for Viola Amherd – but she let the case move on to the Cantonal Court of Valais, where it has been pending since then.

But now there is an end to the argument. The parties had “settled their differences by mutual agreement,” said the cantonal court. The Amherd sisters therefore reached an agreement with Bouygues E&S Intech Schweiz AG (the legal successor to the complaining Alpiq subsidiary). The community of heirs made a “partial payment” and withdrew the appeal to the Cantonal Court of Valais. The proceedings were therefore discontinued.

Silence on the sum

Viola Amherd wanted the “case off the table”, says Urban Carlen, the lawyer for the community of heirs. As a federal councilor, she had no interest in the fact that the matter dragged on forever. According to Carlen, the settlement talks have been going on since last year. He does not provide any information on the amount paid, since it has been agreed not to disclose. No opinion was available from Bouyges. In Amherd’s Department of Defense, lawyer Carlen is referred to.

As observers suspect, Amherd was never primarily concerned with money in the legal dispute. In material terms, she would have been able to make and handle the required payment at all times. But she felt right and wanted to be right – hence the continuation of the judgment to the cantonal court. At the latest since taking office as federal councilor, the case should have become more and more of a burden.

Thanks to the comparison, the Minister of Defense is now free to concentrate fully on her dossiers – not least on the upcoming procurement of new fighter jets. This will involve much higher sums than CHF 250,000.

Created: 2/13/2020, 8:59 PM

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