Facts
The case concerns a real estate agent contract between the defendant Salzmann and the plaintiff Gerber. On December 22, 1965, Salzmann granted Gerber the exclusive mandate to sell his property in Selzach. A few days later, however, Salzmann asked Gerber's manager Eigenmann to temporarily hold off on the sales efforts, as the Swiss Volksbank might know of a potential buyer.
At the end of December 1965, the vice director of the Swiss Volksbank, Frischknecht, inspected the property together with the interested buyer Zimmermann. Eigenmann, the property manager, participated in this inspection and provided Frischknecht with a list of tenants and rental income. On January 11, 1966, Salzmann ultimately sold the property to Zimmermann for 500,000 Swiss francs.
Gerber sued Salzmann for the payment of a 10,000 Swiss franc commission. However, the Cantonal High Court of Solothurn only awarded him 2,500 Swiss francs. On the appeal of the defendant and the cross-appeal of the plaintiff, the Federal Supreme Court overturned this judgment and dismissed the claim entirely.
Considerations
Pursuant to Article 413 paragraph 1 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the broker's fee is only earned if the intended contract is concluded as a result of the broker's activities. A waiver of this causality requirement was not agreed upon in the present contract.
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that neither the plaintiff nor his manager Eigenmann had proven or mediated the buyer Zimmermann. Eigenmann's participation in the negotiations with Frischknecht and Zimmermann after the temporary revocation of the brokerage contract does not give…