Court:

Drama Multi-member Court of First Instance, Decision No 128/2004

Topics:

Consumer protection

Liability of the distributor of defective products

Compensation for damage of assets of the consumer, used by him for professional purposes.

Articles:

Articles 3 and 6 Law 2251/1994

Article 914, Civil Code

Facts:

On February 17th 2003 the claimant bought from the defendant seeds to sow in his field. The defendant distributed the seeds but did not produce them. However, the seeds turned out to be unsuitable for the claimant's field and they did not flourish. The claimant asked for compensation due to loss of profit and moral damage.

Legal Questions:

Is the distributor liable if he took all reasonably possible precautions provided by law? Moreover, under which circumstances can the distributor be held liable?

Decision:

The Court held that the demands of the claimant regarded the damage of his assets, used by him for professional purposes. Therefore law 2251/1994 does not apply and the case should be judged according to the Civil Code general tort provisions. The Court accepted that the defendant acted without negligence or fault and therefore he committed no illegal acts or omissions.

Comments:

In case the producer is unknown, any one who supplies the product is considered liable, unless he informs the consumer on the identity of the producer. According to the above, the Court accepted the liability of the defendant - distributor, meaning that had it been proven that the distributor acted with negligence, he would then be held liable. If the defendant proves that he abided by the law provisions, took all reasonably adequate precautionary measures and withheld no information whatsoever from the consumer, then he cannot be held liable for a potential defectiveness of the product.

Original text:

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