In 1991 a German buyer and an Italian seller concluded a contract for the sale of shoes. The delivery took place in September 1991. The buyer paid the price with three postdated cheques but stopped the last two of them so that only the first could be collected by the seller. In January 1992 the buyer notified to the seller the non-conformity of part of the goods sold specifying the nature of the lack of conformity (the buckles had not been correctly sewn). The seller commenced an action claiming payment of the remainder of the purchase price.
The court held that the contract was governed by CISG, as at the time of the conclusion of the contract the parties had their place of business in two different contracting states (Germany and Italy) (Art. 1 (1) (a) CISG).
In the court's opinion the buyer had lost its right to rely on a lack of conformity of the goods as it had not given notice of their non-conformity within a reasonable period of time after its discovery in compliance with Art. 39 (1) CISG. In particular, the court found that a period of more than two months after delivery was not reasonable taking into account the fact that the lack of conformity was easily recognizable and that the buyer had admitted to have already discovered the lack of conformity of the goods already in October 1991. The seller was therefore awarded the remainder of the price. |