Case number and/or case name
LG Freiburg, 13.05.2005 – 2 O 401/04
Details of the court
Germany, First Instance
Articles referred to by the court
Brussels I
Article 5
Paragraph 1
SubParagraph b
Indent 1
Paragraph 1
SubParagraph b
Indent 2
Article 23
Paragraph 1
SubParagraph a
Paragraph 1
SubParagraph b
Paragraph 1
SubParagraph c
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 5
Date of the judgement
01 May 2005
CJEU's case law cited by the court
Summary
The plaintiff is the owner of s sport center in Germany. The defendant is the producer of light plates with its seat in Belgium. The defendant delivered such plates to the plaintiff. On the confirmation of order, the defendant stated a choice of forum clause giving jurisdiction to the Belgian courts. After the delivery, the plates did not work properly. Therefore, the plaintiff sues for damages. The parties argued whether German courts are internationally competent.
The court considered the jurisdiction agreement between the parties in the sense of Art. 23 Brussels I. It held that it was not validly included into the contract because it was only stated by the defendant and not confirmed by the plaintiff.
However, the court is competent pursuant to Art. 5 no. 1 (b) Brussels I. The place of performance of the obligation lies in Germany because the defendant personally delivered the goods to the plaintiff and did not send them.