Kohtupraktika

  • Juhtumi üksikasjad
    • Isikutunnistus: 3-2-1-139-14
    • Liikmesriik: Eesti
    • Lühinimetus:link
    • Otsuse liik: Ülemkohtu otsus
    • Otsuse kuupäev: 18/12/2014
    • Kohus: Riigikohus
    • Teema:
    • Hageja: Royal Ace OÜ
    • Kostja: Versobank AS
    • Võtmesõnad: penalties, unfair terms
  • Direktiivi artiklid
    Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 2, (a) Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 3, 1. Unfair Contract Terms Directive, ANNEX I, 1., (e)
  • Põhimärkus
    A standard term prescribing an unreasonably high penalty for late payment can be presumed to be unreasonably harmful (unfair).
  • Faktid
    The plaintiff and the defendant entered into a loan contract under which the defendant agreed to lend money to the plaintiff. According to the loan contract the late payment interest (penalty) was 26.4% annually.

    The plaintiff did not meet its contractual obligations. The defendant therefore asked the bailiff to instigate enforcement proceedings against the plaintiff. In response, the plaintiff filed an action against the defendant for declaration of compulsory enforcement to be inadmissible.

    The plaintiff claimed that the penalty for late payment was unreasonably high. Therefore the provision in the loan contract prescribing the penalty for late payment can be viewed as an unfair standard term and is, thus, void.
  • Õigusküsimus
    Can a standard term prescribing a penalty for late payment be a unreasonably harmful (unfair) standard term and thus void?
  • Otsus

    The court found that in the event of an unreasonably high penalty for late payment, the standard term prescribing the penalty for late payment can be presumed to be unfair. The law introduces an indicative list of circumstances when a standard term can be presumed to be unfair. One of the grounds in the list is a situation where the standard term prescribes that the other party shall, in the event of non-performance of the party's obligations, pay an unreasonably high amount of compensation to the party supplying the term. Penalty for late payment is a compensation to the defendant in the event of non-performance by the plaintiff and therefore, based on the indicative list, an unreasonably high penalty for late payment should be presumed to be unfair.

    However, due to the fact that both of the parties had signed the contract in relation to their economic and professional activities, the unfairness can only be presumed and the party using the standard term has the right to prove that the standard term is not unfair. In the present case, the court found that the defendant had proved that the penalty for late payment used in its standard terms was not unreasonably high.

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    Täistekst: Täistekst

  • Seotud juhtumid

    Tulemused puuduvad

  • Õiguskirjandus

    Tulemused puuduvad

  • Tulemus
    The court referred the matter back to the court of second instance for a new hearing.