Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: 6 Ob 151/12t
    • Member State: Austria
    • Common Name:6 Ob 151/12t
    • Decision type: Supreme court decision
    • Decision date: 08/05/2013
    • Court: Supreme Court
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff: Unknown
    • Defendant: Unknown
    • Keywords: choice, price reductions, replacement, significant inconvenience to the consumer
  • Directive Articles
    Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive, link
  • Headnote
    (1) After the transferee had chosen one of the primary remedies, the transferor can object to it with the argument of disproportion. If no such objection is made, a possible disproportion does not have to be considered.

    (2) Even though only a small part of a product is affected by the defect, this should not be regarded in isolation; rather, the whole issue should be taken into account. As a result, the whole product can be considered defective.
  • Facts
    The plaintiff bought a new motorcycle from the defendant. The defendant did not just carry out the final assembly of the motorcycle, which was delivered to him from the producer, he also made the 1.000 km inspection two weeks later. Still it was undetected that a screw of the hose clip was not properly tightened. During a tour the coolant hose got loose and an accident happened after which the motorcycle was a total wreck.

    The plaintiff filed a complaint on the grounds of warranty and compensation and demanded replacement of the damaged motorcycle with a new one.

    The court of first instance allowed the claim, but the appellate court dismissed it.
  • Legal issue
    (1) According to Directive 1999/44/EC and the generally recognised opinion in Austria, the transferee has the right to choose among the primary remedies. After the transferee's choice, the transferor can object to it with the argument of disproportion, which then has to be taken into account. Otherwise, a possible disproportion does not have to be considered.

    (2) Replacement can be demanded, because the whole object (motorcycle) is deemed defective. This is because the defective hose clip should not be considered on its own.
  • Decision

    (1) What are the cases in which disproportion has to be considered, especially when the transferee makes his choice among the primary remedies?

    (2) Is it possible to interpret the whole product as being defective, even though only a small part of the product is defective?

    URL: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?Abfrage=Justiz&Dokumentnummer=JJT_20130508_OGH0002_0060OB00151_12T0000_000&ResultFunctionToken=6df524c9-3f58-4e83-96f4-aa4fa59743cc&Position=1&Gericht=&Rechtssatznummer=&Rechtssatz=&Fundstelle=&AenderungenSeit=Undefined&SucheNachRechtssatz=True&SucheNachText=True&GZ=&VonDatum=01.01.2006&BisDatum=25.10.2016&Norm=&ImRisSeit=Undefined&ResultPageSize=100&Suchworte=1999%2f44%2fEG

    Full text: Full text

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  • Result
    The plaintiff's request was successful and the judgment of the court of first instance was restored.