Jurisdiction of the Commercial Court in cases involving sole proprietorships registered in the commercial register

Facts

Company A. AG (plaintiff, appellant) filed a payment action against B. (defendant 1, respondent 1) and C. (defendant 2, respondent 2) with the District Court of Zurich. The latter declined its material jurisdiction. The plaintiff then filed the same action with the Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich, which also declined its material jurisdiction. The plaintiff then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

According to Art. 6 para. 2 let. a CPC, a dispute is considered to be a commercial law matter when the commercial activity of at least one party is at issue. This is sufficient, even if the other party is acting in the context of its private affairs, provided that the dispute concerns the commercial activity of the other party.

Although the defendants acted in a private capacity in the sale of the disputed shares, the fact that they are registered in the…