Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: 1 U 467/06
    • Member State: Germany
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Other
    • Decision date: 25/07/2007
    • Court: Oberlandesgericht (Appellate court, Saarbrücken)
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff:
    • Defendant:
    • Keywords:
  • Directive Articles
    Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive, Article 3, 3.
  • Headnote
    The removal of a defect has not failed in the terms of § 440 BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – German Civil Code) if the defect causing the claim for removal has been eliminated but the purchased good has been damaged on the occasion of the repair.
  • Facts
    The plaintiff claims the rescission of the contract of sale concluded in April 2005 by which the plaintiff a bought a car for EUR 19.100 from the defendant. After the car had been delivered on 9 May 2005, the plaintiff repeatedly complained to the defendant about having problems starting the car. It was brought to the defendant’s garage for inspection for 3 times. During the last in inspection (on 27 September 2005) a mechanic negligently damaged the car’s body by starting the car and thus colliding with a workbench. The defendant removed the damage. Experts consulted by the parties determined that the expenses for the necessary repair amounted to EUR 2.771,19. According to the experts the permanent loss in value amounted to EUR 600 (defendant) resp. EUR 950 (plaintiff).

    To compensate the loss in value resulting from the new damage, the defendant offered to pay EUR 950 to the plaintiff. The plaintiff rejected the offer and declared the rescission of the contract. She demanded the repayment of the purchase price together with the price for purchased snow tyres minus a compensation of EUR 286,50 for driving the car for 3.000 kilometres. totalling to EUR 19.383,50; all this versus the return of the car.

    The plaintiff states that the car had been defective upon the passing of the risk, since it had had trouble starting. This defect had not been removed during the first to inspections in the defendant’s garage. The damage which had occurred during the third inspection was to be assessed under application of the law of defects and not the law of damages. Thus, the loss of value remaining after the repair could give reason for a rescission of the contract. The claim was dismissed in the previous instance.
  • Legal issue
    The Higher Regional Court Saarbrücken has rejected the plaintiff’s appeal as unfounded. The rescission of a contract under §§ 437 no. 2, 440, 323 BGB required that the purchased goods was defective upon the passing of the risk and that a removal of the defect by means of repair or replacement (§ 439 BGB) was either excluded or had failed. It can remain undecided whether the car was defective upon the passing of the risk due to problems starting, since the removal of the defect in the way chosen by the plaintiff (repair) has not failed. According to the facts established by the Regional Court on which the senate is bound to rely, it was undisputed between the parties that these problems had in any case been fixed during the third repair (if the car had been defective at all) and that therefore the demanded removal of the defect was successful.

    The removal of the defect cannot be deemed as “failed” because the car was damaged in course of the repair when it started driving during an engine test and collided with a workbench. The car’s permanent loss of value results only from this crash. Since the damage of the car body was evidently not present upon the passing of the risk, it does not constitute a defect in the terms of § 434 BGB. Whether the removal of a defect has failed or not, however, is to be judged solely by determining whether the defect causing the claim has been removed or not. The starting problems had been removed and the loss of value arising from the damage inflicted to the car’s body were not directly connected to the seller’s obligation to remove defects present upon the passing of the risk. Thus, the removal of the defect cannot be deemed to have failed.

    Moreover, the plaintiff is not entitled to damages in lieu of performance under §§ 437 no. 3, 440, 280(1),(3), 281(1), 283 BGB by way of restitution of all goods, payments or services exchanged under the contract. Insofar, the same applies as above: The defect in the terms of § 434 BGB which may have existed upon the passing of the risk has in any case been removed, and the car’s loss in value arising from the damaged body is no defect under § 434 BGB since it had not existed upon the passing of the risk. The remaining loss in value also cannot be deemed as being a remote collateral or consequential damage leading to the application of § 281(1) BGB. Additionally, the claim for the unwinding of the contract cannot be based on §§ 280(1), 282 in conjunction with § 281(1) BGB. Although § 282 BGB enables the creditor to resolve the contract if the debtor is liable for the breach of a duty under § 241(2) BGB, this only is applies if - with respect to the whole contract - he can no longer reasonably be expected to accept performance by the debtor. Without pondering all the subtle criteria answering the question whether further performance is unacceptable, it is clear that this is evidently not the case here: The defendant has removed the damage inflicted to the car body and the remaining (technical) loss in value does not make it unacceptable for the plaintiff to keep the vehicle as such.
  • Decision

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