Court:
Cour d'Appel de Paris,10 October 2003
Topics:
Defect
Warnings
Inadequate nature of instructions
Articles:
Facts:
The defendants, Algavi, were the producers and suppliers of « Algolac », a product used to purify and treat ponds and lakes. The claimant, Oasis des Serres de Bon Pain, purchased a quantity of the product for use on stretches of water in their exhibition park. Following the treatment, a number of the fish in the ponds died of asphyxiation.
The Auxerre commercial court found in favour of the defendant on the grounds that the claimant had used an excessive quantity of the product.
The claimant appealed on the basis that Algavi were liable under the product liability legislation and under article 1147 Civil code. The French courts have interpreted this latter article as imposing a contractual obligation on the seller/manufacturer to provide accurate information relating to the use of a product sold.
Decision:
The Court of Appeal found the defendant liable on two grounds. Firstly, under article 1386-1 and following of the Civil code. The expert report found that the death of the fish had been caused by the excessive dose used, rather than by any inherent toxicity in the product. The defendant was liable on the basis that the instructions for use included with the product were insufficiently precise. They in fact gave details of the dose to be applied, but this was stated solely in relation to the size of the water surface, and did not refer to the water depth. In addition, the instructions stated that there was no risk to fish in the event of an excessive dose being applied. The product was therefore defective since, according to the wording of article 1386-4 civil code, the notion of defect includes the presentation of the product and the uses to which it can reasonably be expected to be put.
The defendant, as seller and manufacturer of the product, was also in breach of his contractual duty to provide accurate information necessary for the use of the product under article 1147 code civil.
Comments:
This is an example of a case where the product is considered as defective not due to any inherent defect in the product itself but due to the inadequate nature of the instructions. It also provides an example of a case where liability under the product liability rules can be combined with liability under parallel contract/sales law.
