 I.
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CONSIDERATIONS |
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Submissions
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Each Claimant submitted a claim to the Account of Account Holder 2. The Bank holding the Account and each Claimant (together, "the Parties") signed a Claims Resolution Agreement, thereby agreeing that each claim will be resolved by the Tribunal in accordance with the Rules. The Claims Panel was subsequently appointed to resolve the claim. This Final Decision is subsequent to the Letter of the Claims Panel, dated 8 July 1999 ("the Letter").
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Each Claimant bases his or her claim of entitlement on the fact that he or she is related to J. D., the husband of Account Holder 2. In the Letter, each Claimant was informed that L. D. married [Account Holder 2] in 1892 and died in 1903, predeceasing his wife by several decades and that the dormant account held by Account Holder 2 and Account Holder 1 was opened many years after the death of J.D. In light of the fact that each claim depended "on a finding that your relative J. D. may be entitled to the account despite the fact that he died before the death of [Account Holder 2] and before the account was even opened," the Claims Panel requested each Claimant to decide whether he or she wishes to pursue his or her claim of entitlement to the Account. Finally, the Letter requested each Claimant to provide further information in support of his or her claim, including information on the following issues: (i) the date and place of death of [Account Holder 2]; (ii) the last known address of [Account Holder 2]; (iii) the existence of a will of [Account Holder 2]; and (iv) a detailed explanation as to why each Claimant believes he or she is entitled to the Account.
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On 31 August 1999, Claimant 2 stated that she did not wish to withdraw her claim and that she is convinced that the deposit with which the Account was opened came from her deceased spouse, D. D., and therefore she has a hereditary claim to the assets in the Account. On 18 August 1999, Claimant 1 indicated that he did not wish to withdraw his claim, but provided no response to the question set forth in the Letter. Claimants 3, 4, and 5 did not respond to the Letter. On 11 November 1999, the Tribunal contacted Claimants 3, 4, and 5 to confirm whether he or she wished to pursue his or her claim. They all indicated that they wish to pursue their claims. Therefore, as indicated in the Letter, the Claims Panel will decide the claim based on the information currently before the Tribunal.
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Joinder of Claims
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Article 20 of the Rules provides that the Tribunal shall join all relevant claims in one procedure before the same Claims Panel if a specific dormant account is claimed by several persons. In this case, the Claims Panel determines that the claims of Claimants 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are relevant claims for the purposes of Article 20 and should be joined in this proceeding. The Parties should note that their participation in this arbitration means that copies of all information and documents provided by them in support of their claims may be provided to other Parties for comment.
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Third Party Invitation
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Article 21 of the Rules provides that the Claims Panel may invite a third person - such as another possible heir of the Account Holder - to participate in a proceeding if it deems the participation of such a person appropriate. In this case, on 16 August 1999, relatives of the Claimants, J. R. and his brothers D. I. and D. L., and sister D. R., and cousins D. A. and C. R. have contacted the Tribunal and stated that they are related to Account Holder 2 as descendants of the siblings of her spouse, J. D. They further stated that Account Holder 2 had only one child, who died in 1892. These individuals requested that their claims be taken into account by the Claims Panel. However, the Claims Panel is of the view that in light of the fact that the deadline for filing a claim has long since past and in light of its findings with respect to entitlement for the descendants of J. D. in paragraph 3 of this Decision, it does not consider it necessary or appropriate to invite these individuals into this proceeding.
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The Account
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The Bank reported that the Account consists of a joint current account with a balance of negative 31.60 Swiss Francs and a joint securities account with a balance of 111,628.00 Swiss Francs as of 1 April 1998. The Bank noted in its response to the claim that the Account is a joint and several account and that the Account Holders and the Bank had agreed upon a clause stating that, in the event of the death of one of the Account Holders, the survivor alone should be entitled as far as the Bank is concerned to dispose of the assets. The clause provides in relevant part: "Il est expressément entendu qu'il y aura solidarité entre eus pour toutes sommes ou valeurs entrées au dit compte et que par suite chacun pourra sur sa seule signature faire fonctionner le dit compte, notamment par emploi de fonds en achats de titres, - par vente des valeurs entrées au compte, - par retrait de tout ou partie des dépôts, espèces ou titres" (the "Survivorship Clause").
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Summary of Claim
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For a claim in the Ordinary Procedure to be approved, a Claimant must show that it is plausible in light of all the circumstances that he or she is entitled, in whole or in part, to the Account. In making this finding of plausibility, the Claims Panel must assess all information submitted by the Parties or otherwise available to it. The Claims Panel must also bear in mind the difficulties of proving a claim, given the destruction of the Second World War and the Holocaust and the length of time that has lapsed since the opening of the Account.
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The Claims Panel finds that, while the Claimants have identified Account Holder 2 as the spouse of their relative, J. D., they have not established a plausible claim of entitlement to the Account. In this case, each Claimant bases his or her claim on the fact that they are related to J. D. In the Letter the Claims Panel informed the Claimants that their preliminary view was that the information each Claimant had provided "does not establish a plausible entitlement to the assets in the Account." It based this preliminary finding on, among other things, the fact that the J. D. died before Account Holder 2 and over twenty years before the Account was opened.
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In order to rebut this preliminary finding, in the Letter the Claims Panel requested the Claimants to provide "a detailed explanation, in light of the information in this letter, as to why you believe you are entitled to the Account." With two exceptions, the Claimants have not responded to this request for more information. Claimants 2 and 3 stated that the funds contained in the Account were originally from assets owned by J. D. and that therefore they have a hereditary claim to the assets in the Account. Notwithstanding that there is no evidence in support of this allegation, the Claims Panel also finds this irrelevant to establish a claim of entitlement. In order to establish a plausible claim of entitlement, a Claimant generally must establish that he or she is an heir of the Account Holder, not that the assets in the Account originally came from a relative of the Claimant.
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As for whether the Claimants are the heirs of Account Holder 2, the Claims Panel notes that the Claimants have provided no information regarding the death of Account Holder 2, including any information as to whether she died intestate. The Claims Panel will therefore presume that she died without a will or other testamentary documents. Spanish intestacy law provides for the following order of inheritance for persons who die intestate: (i) children or grandchildren of the deceased, if any; (ii) parents or grandparents of the deceased, if any; (iii) surviving spouse, if any; and (iv) siblings and their descendants, if any. If there are no surviving relatives to the fourth degree of relation, the estate will revert to the State. See Spanish Civil Code, Articles 912 et seq. It is clear from this that the Claimants do not fall within any of these degrees of relation with Account Holder 2. Therefore, it is the Claims Panel's finding the Claimants have not provided sufficient evidence that they are the heirs of Account Holder 2.
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In light of these considerations, the Claims Panel determines that the Claimants have not shown that it is plausible in light of all the circumstances that they are entitled to the Account.
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II.
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FINAL DECISION |
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Based on the submissions of the Parties and the above considerations, and in accordance with the Rules, the Claims Panel renders the following Final Decision:
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1.
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The claims of Claimant 1 (Docket Number 5563/0798/RO), Claimant 2 (Docket Number 8975/0699/RO), Claimant 3 (Docket No. 5567/0798/RO), Claimant 4 (Docket No. 6059/0898/RO), and Claimant 5 (Docket No. 5571/0798/RO) are hereby joined in one proceeding pursuant to Article 20 of the Rules. The proceedings shall be conducted under Consolidated Docket Number 5563/0798/RO. The Claims Panel orders that documents and submissions of the Claimants be exchanged. |
2.
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The Claims Panel denies the request of J. R., I. R., J. R., M. R., A. R., and C. R. to join the present proceeding. |
3.
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The Claims Panel finds that it is not plausible that the Claimants are entitled to the Account. Accordingly, the claim of each Claimant to the Account is denied, and the Tribunal will close his or her claim file. |
4.
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This Order shall be communicated to the Parties by Registered Mail Against Receipt. |
22 November 1999
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| Chairperson |
Co-Arbitrator |
Co-Arbitrator |
| [signature] |
[signature] |
[signature] |
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| Prof. Thomas Buergenthal |
Judge Hadassa Ben-Itto |
Dr. Hans K. Nater |
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