Claim for unfair competition against multiple defendants - Unified jurisdiction under Art. 129 para. 3 PILA

Facts

With a claim filed on March 14, 1990, Jan Heydorn sued Hüsler-Liforma Entwicklungs AG (first defendant) and Hüsler-Liforma AG (second defendant) before the Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich for injunction of certain competitive acts and for damages. The plaintiff justified the local jurisdiction of the Commercial Court with respect to the second defendant based on the unified jurisdiction pursuant to Art. 129 para. 3 PILA.

The second defendant raised an objection to the lack of local jurisdiction, which the Commercial Court dismissed with a separate interim decision of September 12, 1990. Thereupon, the second defendant appealed the decision of the Commercial Court both by way of appeal and by way of constitutional complaint.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal of the second defendant. It states that the unified jurisdiction under Art. 129 para. 3 PILA does not require a necessary joinder of the defendants, but it is sufficient that the plaintiff's claims are essentially based on the same facts and legal grounds.

Furthermore, in the present case, there is an international relationship within the meaning of the PILA, since the alleged unfair acts or their effects occurred in Germany and exclusively affected the German market. Therefore, the plaintiff can sue the second defendant before the Commercial Court of…