A Belgian buyer bought squirrels from a Chinese seller. The squirrels started dying two or three days after arrival. Only 33 of the original 1800 survived. The buyer notified the seller of this after six weeks, when the seller asked why the buyer had not yet paid. The seller sued the buyer for payment of the price.
The Court held that CISG was applicable since both China and Belgium are contracting States.
As to the merits, it found that according to Arts. 38 and 39 CISG the buyer should examine the goods as soon as possible in the circumstances and give notice of non-conformity of the goods to the seller within a reasonable time after discovery of the defects. The buyer did not fulfil its obligations as it notified the seller more than one month after the whole delivery had perished, while the squirrels had already began to die a few days after delivery. Thus, the buyer was ordered to pay the price. |