Facts
On May 10, 2017, B. (the respondent) filed a claim with the District Court of Höfe and requested that the general partnership A. (the appellant) be ordered to pay her CHF 40,000.- plus interest at 5% from February 28, 2017. In support of her claim, B. stated that the parties had agreed to establish a limited liability company (GmbH) for the purpose of jointly operating a restaurant and a bar. On January 10, 2017, she had transferred CHF 40,000.- to A. for the purpose of drafting the necessary contracts, but the negotiations subsequently failed due to differences.
A. contested the claim and argued that it had demanded the CHF 40,000.- as a security deposit, which was to remain with A. in the event of non-performance of the contract by B. If the GmbH was successfully established, this money would have served as a down payment for the equal acquisition and contribution of the restaurant.
The District Court upheld the claim and ordered A. to pay B. CHF 40,000.- plus interest at 5% from February 28, 2017. A.'s appeal against this decision was dismissed by the Cantonal Court of the Canton of Schwyz.
Considerations
A. raised the defense of prescription. The Federal Court concluded that the prescription period had not started anew, as the legal dispute before the court seized was not yet concluded. According to the case law of the Federal Court, the legal…