A German buyer and an Italian seller concluded a contract for the sale of vodka. The buyer paid only a part of the purchase price. It then declared the contract avoided alleging that the product was non conforming. The seller commenced an action claiming payment of the rest of the price and interest.
The Court did not rule on whether the vodka was actually non conforming and whether the buyer had given notice of the alleged lack of conformity within a reasonable time after discovering the defect (Arts. 38(1) and Art. 39(1) CISG), because the buyer failed to declare the contract avoided within a reasonable time after it knew or ought to have known of the breach (Art. 49(2)(b)(i) CISG) (18 months after discovery was held to be not timely).
The buyer was obliged to pay the price plus interest accruing from the date when payment was due (Art. 59 and 78 CISG), at the Italian statutory rate. A higher interest rate as further damages (Art. 74 CISG) was not granted since the seller was not able to prove a causal connection between its recourse to bank loans and the buyer's non payment. |