Teismų praktika

  • Bylos aprašymas
    • Nacionalinis numeris: Supreme Court, Judgement e3K-3-158-469/2019
    • Valstybė narė: Lietuva
    • Bendrinis pavadinimas:N/A
    • Sprendimo rūšis: Aukščiausiojo Teismo sprendimas
    • Sprendimo data: 25/04/2019
    • Teismas: Supreme Court of Lithuania
    • Tema:
    • Ieškovas:
    • Atsakovas:
    • Raktažodžiai: sales contract, refund, repair
  • Direktyvos straipsniai
    Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 3
  • Įžanginė pastaba

    The Court ruled that a consumer can unilaterally terminate a contract with the seller and ask him to refund the money paid for a watch if 1) the repair of the watch is not possible, 2)  the specific nature of the watch makes it impossible to replace with a new one (because  the whole series of it has already been sold) and 3)  because of the failure of the watch and the long repair time, the consumer has not been able to replace it and this caused  great inconvenience.

  • Faktai

    The plaintiff bought a watch from the defendant (a watch retail company) on July 25, 2013, and when the watch broke it was accepted for repair on December 28, 2013.  5 months later, it was returned to the consumer, with the claim that it was a new watch. On May 2016, the watch broke again, so  the consumer unilaterally terminated the purchase-sale contract with the defendant and asked him to refund the money paid for the watch. The defendant refused, so the plaintiff went to court.

    The First Instance Court dismissed the action.

    The Appellate Court left the decision of the First Instance Court unchanged.

  • Teisės klausimas

    Can the consumer unilaterally terminate a contract with the seller and ask him to refund the money paid for a product if 1)  repair of the product is not possible, 2)  the specific nature of the product makes it impossible to replace with a new one (because  the whole series of it has already been sold), and 3)  because of the failure of the product and the long repair time, the consumer has not been able to replace it and this caused great inconvenience?

  • Sprendimas

    Attention must be drawn to the specific nature of the sale-purchase relationship at issue: the watch purchased by the applicant was of a special limited series. With the defendant having no other watch in that series, it is reasonable to consider that, as a result, the plaintiff’s (consumer's) right to replace the product is practically unenforceable in relation to the watch in dispute. Consequently, a watch bearing the same unique number returned to the applicant after the first repair must be regarded as having been repaired and not as a new item.

    Secondly, in assessing the merits of the remedy sought by the plaintiff, it is important and necessary to consider the fact that the consumer was unable to use the product for a long time as a result of the watch's failure and delayed repairs, which caused him considerable inconvenience. The watch was bought on July 25, 2013, accepted for repair on December 28, 2013 and then returned to the consumer, claiming that it was a new watch, on June 1, 2014.  Only 5 months later, in May 2016, the watch broke again. It follows that the consumer did not, in principle, obtain what he sought when concluding the sale contract: to have a good-quality luxury watch and to use it for its intended purpose. Thus, the elimination of defects in the quality of a watch sold during its repair cannot be recognised as a proper protection of consumer rights.

    Considering all the circumstances discussed, the panel finds that, in the present case, the consumer, as the weaker party of the contract, must be given the opportunity to demand termination of the contract and a refund; the remedy chosen by the plaintiff is proportionate to the breach of contract.

    URL: https://eteismai.lt/byla/20798778585138/e3K-3-158-469/2019?word=3k-3-207/2005

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  • Rezultatas

    The Court overruled the decision of the Appellate Court and upheld the action in full.