Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: II ZR 292/06
    • Member State: Germany
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Other
    • Decision date: 12/07/2010
    • Court: BGH (Supreme court)
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff:
    • Defendant:
    • Keywords:
  • Directive Articles
    Doorstep Selling Directive, Article 1, 1. Doorstep Selling Directive, Article 5 Doorstep Selling Directive, Article 7
  • Headnote
    1. The principles of the de facto corporation that seek to ensure a reasonable balance and a fair sharing of risks between the participants on the basis of the general principles of civil law is compatible with the Directive 85/577/EEC and are therefore also applicable to cases in which a person joins a “Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts” (GbR) as an investment in a situation away from business premises.
    2. The consequence of this can be that the person withdrawing from his investment may not only not receive his contribution in full, but may also be obligated to contribute to losses based on the company accounts of the day of his leaving the company.
  • Facts
    The defendant seeks the forced execution against the claimant of a decision of the court of first instance of Munich taxation of costs (Kostenfestsetzungsbeschluss). In this case the claimant had attempted in vain to sue the defendant as an associate of the property GbR for payment. She desired in addition to the determination of the defendant’s obligation to make an additional payment (Nachschusspflicht) also the determination of the invalidity of the defendant’s withdrawal from his participation in the company. At first instance, her claim succeeded. The defendant’s appeal was rejected. The claimant then evidenced the costs on the basis of which she had a claim against the defendant. She declared set-off and brought an action raising an objection on fresh grounds to the judgment claim. The claim was accepted at first instance. On appeal from the defendant, the claimant’s claim was dismissed, against which she now appeals to the Federal Court of Justice.
  • Legal issue
    Despite the withdrawal from the participation in the GbR under article 3 of the Law on withdrawal from contracts negotiated away from business premises, the principles of the de facto corporation remain applicable if this leads to the associate’s obligation to the company on the basis of the separation that is in principle required. Otherwise there would be a violation of the Directive 85/577/EEC, which clearly states that a consumer may not be burdened with further obligations from the contract, from which he withdrew, and that restitution of every performance must be made.
    The claim against forced execution is founded. The forced execution of the decisions fixing costs is inadmissible since the claims arising from the decisions are voided by the set-off.
    The provisions of the Directive 85/577/EEC do not oppose the restitution on the basis of the principles of the de facto corporation and thus also the defendant’s payment obligation under article 739 of the German Civil Code. With its decision of 15 April 2010 C-215/08, the ECJ decided that the Directive 85/577/EEC also applies to the participation in closed property fund that has been negotiated away from business premises. Following the ECJ’s interpretation, the consequences of this withdrawal are then determined by national law so that the principles of the de facto corporation remain applicable in principle.
  • Decision

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