Facts
On 18 June 2013, A. (plaintiff; appellant) filed a lawsuit against B. AG (defendant; respondent) with the Cantonal Court of Graubünden for copyright infringement and unfair competition. By orders dated 20 June 2013, the presiding judge of the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Cantonal Court set a deadline for the plaintiff to provide a security deposit and for the defendant to submit the statement of defense.
Subsequently, the proceedings were stayed with a view to settlement negotiations, thereby eliminating both the deadline for the security deposit and the deadline for the statement of defense. On 7 October 2013, the representative of the defendant informed the court of the failure of the settlement negotiations.
By orders dated 9 October 2013, the presiding judge of the 2nd Civil Chamber lifted the stay of the proceedings, ordered the plaintiff to provide a security deposit, and set a 30-day deadline for the defendant to submit the written statement of defense.
By decision dated 20 November 2013, the Cantonal Court did not enter into the merits of the case. It imposed the ordinary costs of CHF 1,000.- on the plaintiff and a party compensation of CHF 6,587.30 for the expenses of the defendant's legal representative for drafting the statement of defense.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the law does not specify when the claim must be served on the opposing party and when a deadline for the statement of defense must be set. The conduct of the proceedings is largely at the discretion of the court, which may also take into account that cases of non-payment of security deposits - at least in cases where the parties are represented by lawyers - are relatively rare.
There is no federal legal obligation for the court to wait with the service of the claim and the…