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The fitness industry is blocked. The first few months of the year are actually the most profitable time for sports studios. But Corona has frustrated fitness operators. Instead of new underwriting income, debts are piling up.
For many, hardship payments are not enough to absorb the drop in sales. More and more studios are on the brink of ruin. Now the Swiss Association of Fitness Centers (SFGV) has had enough. He wants to fight for financial compensation through legal means.
On March 26, the association filed a state liability lawsuit with the Federal Department of Finance in which it seeks to force the federal government to pay damages. Entry is available for SonntagsBlick. It is a model lawsuit on behalf of a gym in Bern. Its operators demand 260,000 Swiss francs from the federal government. The lawsuit is intended to pave the way for future claims for damages from the fitness industry.
Crowdfunding for the demand for state responsibility
The SFGV, which coordinates and finances the legal procedures, raised 75,000 francs with crowdfunding. The lawsuit is led by Urs Saxer, lawyer and professor of constitutional and administrative law. It says: “The effects of the Federal Council measures on gyms are disproportionate.” A state liability lawsuit is the only way that claims for damages can be made.
The 49-page petition for legal action is tough on the state government: “The Federal Council has exercised its discretion in a clearly non-objective and infringing manner by failing to make any clarification in the gym area and hastening the situation despite contradicting scientific findings, not differentiating and misjudging “.
The Finance Department must now evaluate the complaint and prepare a statement that will be sent to the Federal Council. If the latter rejects the action, the association can go to federal court. It’s clear by now: If the association is successful with the lawsuit, a flood of claims for damages will soon pass over the federal government.
Experts report doubts
However, the obstacles to financial compensation are high. State responsibility presupposes that the authorities have acted illegally. Legal experts doubt that this condition is met.
SFGV President Claude Ammann still believes in success: “If you assume that the Swiss legal system is a fair system, then I am firmly convinced that our lawsuit will succeed.” The closures are arbitrary, because there is no evidence that there are more infected people in gyms than in public transport, in stores or in gondolas. In fact, the question of whether fitness studies are hot spots in the crown is controversial among experts.
Ammann, who runs a gym with physical therapy and a doctor’s office in the canton of Solothurn, feels abandoned by the federal government and the cantons: “You don’t have to be a professor of economics to realize that the situation is getting worse and more threatening.” . What about compensation for hardships? According to Ammann, these are disproportionate to the months of lost sales.
The confederation and the cantons are scarce
Tina Kalkschmid also confirms that hardship payments are not enough. He runs a gym in Uetikon am See ZH and says, “I couldn’t even pay the rent with compensation.”
Kalkschmid opened his gym in mid-January 2020. A few weeks later, the first person in Switzerland tested positive for the corona virus. And shortly after, the confinement followed.
Today, after more than a year of pandemic, Kalkschmid does not know if it will ever be able to reopen: “We are in a desperate situation, all our savings have been exhausted.” The athletic director tries to stay afloat by offering outdoor fitness classes. Fortunately, I have a lot of loyal customers. But that won’t work for long. “
It’s unclear how long fitness providers like Tina Kalkschmid will have to put up with. The Federal Council will decide the next easing steps in mid-April at the earliest. If the number of cases continues to rise, the sports studios could be closed in May.
Published: 04/04/2021, 12:26 am
