A Swiss buyer and a German seller concluded contracts for the delivery of furniture in December 1996 and in January 1997. In February 1997 the seller delivered the furniture and sent the buyer an invoice. At the end of February and in June 1997 the buyer received complaints from its customers about the quality of the furniture and consequently had to make replacements. In June 1997 the seller demanded the price according to the invoice but the buyer refused, arguing that the price had to be paid by another company. In March 1998 the buyer again refused to pay the price on the seller's request, arguing it was not the right debtor and that in any case some of the furniture was defective and therefore it had the right to a reduction of the price.
On the basis of the evidence, the Court found that the buyer and not the other company was obliged to pay the agreed price since it was the buyer who was a part to the contract and since it had not made a timely notice of the alleged defects according to Art. 39 (1) CISG. The notice of lack of conformity given, in June 1998 was not timely, since the buyer had received the goods in February 1997 and already starting from the end of the same month had received complaints about the quality from its customers and therefore knew about the lack of conformity. Furthermore, the buyer who had the burden of proof of whether timely notice had been made did not have any excuse under Art. 44 CISG, and therefore the buyer did not have the right to reduce the price in accordance with Art. 50 CISG.
Finally, the buyer had to pay interest according to Art. 78 CISG, which was calculated according to the applicable German domestic law. |