Dismissal of the claim for commission payment from a brokerage contract

Facts

The appellant, owner of the sole proprietorship [X.] , and the respondent, [Y. AG] , disputed whether a brokerage contract had been concluded between them. The appellant claimed that he had arranged contact between the respondent and [Q. SA] , Barcelona, which had led to [Q. SA] purchasing shares from the respondent. The respondent denied the conclusion of a brokerage contract and the causality between the arrangement and the share purchase.

The Commercial Court of the Canton of St. Gallen dismissed the claim, as the appellant had not proven that an actual or normative consensus had existed between the parties with regard to the conclusion of a brokerage contract. The appellant appealed this decision to the Federal Court.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined whether the lower court had rightly denied the conclusion of a brokerage contract between the parties. It found that the appellant had not sufficiently substantiated which activities had been agreed upon, for which he could have claimed a fee in the event of success.

The Federal Court concluded that the lower court had rightly denied the conclusion of a…