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| An Italian manufacturer of leather goods ('the seller') concluded an agreement with a German company ('the buyer') according to which the German company would distribute the seller's products in a certain market area in Germany. Pursuant to the agreement the seller delivered to the buyer goods which remained partly unpaid. The seller commenced an action to recover the purchase price.
The Court held that German law and as such CISG was the applicable law to govern each separate contract of sale under the distributorship agreement. The seller was awarded payment of the price according to Art. 53 CISG. As to payment made by fund transfer to the seller's bank account, the Court held that the provisions on the place of payment in Art. 57(1)(a) CISG imply that the buyer is discharged from its obligation to pay when the transfer is credited to the seller's account and that the buyer must bring evidence thereof. As far as payment by cheque is concerned, the Court found that since the buyer must comply with all formalities relating to payment, it has to bear the costs in the case that the cheque is not honored. The Court further held that the buyer had lost the right to rely on a lack of conformity of the delivered goods, since it had not given notice to the seller within a reasonable time specifying the nature of the defects pursuant to Art. 39(1) CISG. In the Court's opinion, a notice stating that 'the products are not conforming to our specifications and cannot be sold to customers' or '250 items were badly stamped' is not sufficiently specific as to enable the seller to take appropriate measures or set up a defense. |