Country:
France
Court:
Topics:
Producer / Supplier
Articles:
Facts:
Consumers suffered food-poisoning (trichinosis) after consuming horse-meat infected with roundworms. A claim was brought against the supplier of the contaminated meat, a butcher, Monsieur Guardia, and his insurer, the Mutuelle Assurance Professions Alimentaires. The Court of Appeal upheld the finding of liability.
Decision:
The Court of Appeal held that the butcher who sold the meat was to be considered as a producer pursuant to the provisions of the Code Civil on Product Liability (Articles 1386-6 and 1386-7 Code Civil). It could not be seriously maintained that the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the time when the product was put into circulation was not such as to enable the existence of the defect to be discovered. The mere fact that an analysis undertaken by the Aude Department Veterinary Laboratory failed to detect the presence of roundworms did not mean that the defence was made out. The Court held that the assessment of the state of scientific and technical knowledge must be undertaken in an objective manner, without taking account of the qualities or knowledge of the specific producer. Moreover, the "state of scientific and technical knowledge" refers to the most advanced knowledge worldwide at the moment the product was put into circulation.
The Court of Appeal also held that a producer found liable under the provisions of the Code Civil on Product Liability could not escape liability simply by showing that a third-party was a causal contributor. The fact that the Aude Department Veterinary Laboratory might have been at fault because it had failed to deploy the necessary resources to detect the roundworms in the meat, did not affect the liability of the butcher.
