A Spanish buyer and a German seller entered into a contract for the sale of machinery for grinding bricks. The buyer filed a law suit against the seller in order to terminate the contract, alleging delay in delivery and defective performance of the machinery.
The Court held that the buyer was entitled to avoid (terminate) the contract according to Arts. 49(1)(a) since the defects in the machinery amounted to fundamental breach (Art. 25 CISG) and the buyer had repeatedly and timely notified the seller of the lack of conformity (Art. 39 CISG) and had also fixed an additional time for performance (Art. 47(1) CISG), which had elapsed without the seller having remedied the malfunctioning of the machinery.
Accordingly, the Court awarded the buyer legal fees and ordered the seller to refund the price plus interest calculated on the basis of the otherwise applicable law as well as to remove the machinery installed at the buyer's facilities at its own expenses.
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