Facts
The [X. AG] (appellant) and [Y.] (respondent) were parties to a lawsuit that was conducted before the Civil Court of the Sarine district and later before the Cantonal Court of Fribourg, I. Civil Court of Appeal. The respondent had lived in the Hotel [Z.] , a thermal establishment with a hotel operation, after a hip operation in May 1999 and had injured himself in the night of May 26 to 27, 1999, when a folded-up bed fell down and trapped his arm between the two beds. The respondent had to undergo various operations and suffered from a severely restricted functionality of his arm.
On May 19, 2004, the respondent filed a lawsuit and demanded payment of a judicially determined amount exceeding Fr. 8,000.-- plus interest at 5% from the date of the accident. The Civil Court found that the factual and legal prerequisites for the liability of the appellant for the respondent's financial damage were given in principle. The Cantonal Court of Fribourg dismissed an appeal filed against this decision, insofar as it was admissible.
The appellant requested in a civil law appeal that the judgment of the I. Civil Court of Appeal of the Cantonal Court of Fribourg of February 19, 2007, be set aside and the lawsuit of May 19, 2004, be dismissed in its entirety.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the admissibility of the appeal and found that the Federal Act on the Federal Court (FSCA) had entered into force on January 1, 2007, and was therefore applicable to the proceedings. The Court examined whether the appeal was admissible and found that the contested decision did not constitute a final judgment but rather an interlocutory judgment.
The Court examined whether the prerequisites for an independent appeal against the interlocutory judgment were met and found that the appellant had not demonstrated why the…