Facts
On July 9, 1990, B. AG (Plaintiff) entered into a publicly notarized contract with A. (Defendant), whereby the Defendant granted the Plaintiff a purchase option on the property GB X. The Plaintiff had already paid the agreed price of CHF 130,000 on April 28, 1989. However, on May 7, 1991, the Land Registry Office in Baden refused to register the purchase option in the land register. In August 1998, the parties submitted the contract to the Finance Department of the Canton of Aargau to examine its compatibility with the Federal Act on Rural Land Law (BGBB). By decision of August 24, 1998, the Finance Department determined that the Plaintiff did not qualify as a self-cultivating owner and that the square meter price of the property must not exceed CHF 9.30 according to the BGBB. In October 1999, the Plaintiff applied for approval of the purchase contract of December 22, 1993, which the Finance Department rejected on January 10, 2000 based on the BGBB.
On February 17, 2000, the Plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the District Court of Baden for reimbursement of the already paid purchase price of CHF 130,000 plus interest. The District Court of Baden partially upheld the claim and ordered the Defendant to pay. The Defendant then filed an appeal, which the High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the Plaintiff's claim for unjust enrichment arose with the legal force of the declaratory decision of August 24, 1998. This decision provided the Plaintiff with sufficient knowledge that the acquisition of the property could not be approved. Consequently, the relative limitation period of one year under Art. 67 para. 1 CO began to run, so that the claim filed on February 17, 2000 was…