Data

Date:
26-10-2022
Country:
France
Number:
620 F-D
Court:
Cour of Cassation
Parties:
Boissec v. Eco Tendance

Keywords

TWO-YEAR TIME LIMIT PROVIDED FOR BY ART. 39 CISG - IT IS A TIME LIMIT FOR NOTICE OF LACK OF CONFORMITY AND NOT A TIME LIMIT TO BRING ACTION AGAINST THE OTHER PARTY

LIMITATION PERIOD (PRESCRIPTION) - MATTER EXCLUDED FROM CISG (ART. 7(2))

Abstract

A Swiss company concluded a contract with a French company for the sale of composite wooden slats for resale. Numerous complaints by final customers arose between 2012 and 2013 regarding various defects in the slats, leading to requests for warranty coverage. The buyer sought compensation from the seller for damages caused by the defective slats, yet the seller’s insurer rejected the insurance claim. In June 2014, the buyer brought an action against the seller and its insurer. The legal proceedings also involved the manufacturer of the slats (another French company) and the supplier of the raw materials, a Belgian company.

In 2017, the Court of first instance declared the seller’s guarantee vis-à-vis the buyer enforceable under French law while rejecting the application of the Convention. The Court of Appeal reversed the decision on the point of the applicable law and on strength of Arts. 35 and 36 CISG it ordered the seller to compensate the buyer for the loss suffered because of lack of conformity of the goods. The Court of Appeal also rejected the seller’s claim that the buyer’s claim was inadmissible under Art. 39(2) CISG.
Regarding recourse actions, the Court of Appeal found that, whereas the buyer’s direct action against the manufacturer was not admissible under CISG, the manufacturer’s action against the raw material supplier could be decided under the Convention.

The Court of Cassation overturned the decision of the inferior Court on a point of law. In fact, it considered that, whereas the Court of Appeal referred solely on the CISG’s provisions when deciding upon whether the action of the manufacturer against the supplier of raw materials was time-barred, the Convention does not expressly deal with the matter of limitation periods yet only provides a time limit for the notification of the lack of conformity by the buyer.

Fulltext

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Source

Original in French:
- available at www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}