Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: link
    • Member State: Slovenia
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Court decision in appeal
    • Decision date: 11/06/2015
    • Court: Higher court in Celje
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff: Unknown
    • Defendant: Unknown
    • Keywords: cancellation of contract, conformity with the contract, consumer rights, poor quality, product characteristics
  • Directive Articles
    Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive, link Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive, Article 3, 2.
  • Headnote
    (1) A consumer who has notified a seller about a defect of sold goods in a timely manner has a right to request the goods to be corrected to the agreed condition, to have the price reasonably reduced, to have the goods replaced or to get the amount paid reimbursed from the seller.
    (2) The right of a consumer to terminate a contract does not depend on any consumer's prior request to refit the goods as agreed, but is rather listed as an alternative claim.
  • Facts
    The plaintiff and the defendant signed a sales contract for a used car. The plaintiff requested the roadworthiness of the vehicle as a special condition for the purchase. The dispute arose because the vehicle did not have requested features. The plaintiff therefore terminated the contract. The defendant argued that the plaintiff wrongfully terminated the contract, as he did not leave an appropriate time frame in order for the defendat to refit the car to the agreed condition.
  • Legal issue
    The court found that the plaintiff requested a roadworthy vehicle from the defendant and, because of that, also requested a technical review. The court rejected the defendant's objections referring to the age and mileage of the car, and to contract's clause "as-is", and decided that its diligence must be assessed according to the criteria of a good expert. The court found that no contractual provision can limit or exclude the seller's liability for defects as provided under relevant consumer protection laws. The purchased vehicle did not have all the required features, and it was technically useless and even dangerous. As the plaintiff requested technical perfection as a special condition for the purchase and correctly notified the defects, the plaintiff rightfully terminated the contract because of those defects and rightfully requested the return of the purchase price. The court established that the plaintiff had the right to terminate the contract, as an alternative remedy, and therefore no specific conditions pursuant to which the consumer may only terminate a contract if he gives the seller an appropriate time frame for the performance of the contract needed to be fulfilled in order to assert this claim.
  • Decision

    (1) Which claims does a consumer have in the case of lack of conformity?
    (2) Does the right to terminate the contract depend on any consumer's prior request to refit the goods as agreed?

    URL: http://www.sodnapraksa.si/?q=id:2015081111385082&database%5bSOVS%5d=SOVS&database%5bIESP%5d=IESP&database%5bVDSS%5d=VDSS&database%5bUPRS%5d=UPRS&_submit=išči&page=0&id=2015081111385082

    Full text: Full text

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  • Result
    The defendant's request was denied.