Summary
Lis pendens occurs pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 if the parties to a contract providing for reciprocal obligations bring, one against the other, in Italy and in France, proceedings aimed at ascertaining that the other party did not perform, or performed incorrectly, its obligations under said contract. Under said circumstances the relevant Italian court is not required to stay the proceedings if it ascertains that it has been seised prior to the relevant French court pursuant to Article 30 of said Regulation, and it can proceed to verify its jurisdiction in the proceedings relating to the opposition to a summary injunction (decreto ingiuntivo). It is irrelevant that the French court – which did not rule upon the objection that said Italian court was the court first seised – has issued a provisional decision declining jurisdiction over the claims brought before it and considering Italian courts as competent with respect to such claims. A contract whereby an Italian company shall supply to a French company a vehicle for the cleaning of refuse containers as well as two other systems for the cleaning of refuse containers to be installed in frames manufactured by third parties and made available to the Italian company by said French company constitutes a sale of goods within the meaning of Article 5(1)(b), first hyphen of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001. Pursuant to Article 5(1)(b), first hyphen of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, Italian courts do not have jurisdiction in relation to a contract for the sale of movables where the delivery of the goods has occurred in France in compliance with said contract and it was not challenged by the parties and is proved by written evidence.