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Homburger successfully represented U.S. artistic gymnast Jordan Chiles in proceedings before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in connection with the 2024 Olympic Games. On January 23, 2026, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld a request for revision filed on behalf of Ms. Chiles and set aside a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) award that had deprived her of the Olympic bronze medal in the women’s gymnastics floor exercise final.
Ms. Chiles had initially been awarded the bronze medal after her coach’s inquiry resulted in an increase to her final score. A CAS panel subsequently ruled, however, that the inquiry had been submitted four seconds after the applicable one-minute time limit and was therefore invalid. In September 2024, Homburger filed both a request for revision and an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court on behalf of Ms. Chiles. In the revision proceedings, Ms. Chiles relied on newly emerged video evidence demonstrating that the inquiry had in fact been submitted within the prescribed time limit.
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court granted the request for revision, set aside the CAS award and remitted the matter to the arbitral tribunal. In doing so, it gave particular weight to the extreme time pressure to which Ms. Chiles had been subjected as a result of a gross notification error by the CAS. The belated notification left her with only hours before the issuance of the award to appoint counsel, review the case file, develop a defense strategy, draft a written submission and prepare for a hearing.
«The Swiss Federal Supreme Court’s decision underscores the importance of standing firm when fairness is at stake,» the Homburger team representing Ms. Chiles said.
The decision constitutes a landmark ruling in several respects, including regarding the requirements for the revision of an arbitral award under the recently revised Swiss arbitration legislation, as well as the conduct of hyper-expedited arbitration proceedings more generally.
The Homburger team advising Ms. Chiles was led by Gabrielle Nater-Bass and included Stefanie Pfisterer, Richard G. Allemann and Frédéric Fitzi (all Arbitration, Litigation). Homburger acted as co-counsel together with international counsel Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.