Cour de cassation 1ère Chambre civile; 2023-06-07; 1re Civ., 7 juin 2023, pourvoi n° 21-24.927
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:FR:CCASS:2023:C100389
Date: 2023-06-07
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: France

82023FR0607(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, examined by the Cour de cassation (hereinafter ‘the Supreme Court’), concerned an appeal on the question of legal jurisdiction.
The case involved several parties, including the German company Dometic (GmbH) and its insurer HDI Global SE (together hereinafter ‘the plaintiffs’). The defendants included Mr. [K] [M] and Mrs. [J] [M] (together hereinafter ‘defendant 1’), the French company ADS Loisirs (hereinafter ‘defendant 2’), the French company Rapido and its insurer Allianz IARD (together hereinafter ‘defendant 3’), the company Mutuelle assurance instituteur France, and the company Alpes Provence Caravanes.
Defendant 1 acquired a motorhome from defendant 2. This vehicle, manufactured by defendant 3, was destroyed in a fire. Claiming that the fire resulted from a malfunction of the motorhome's refrigerator, defendant 1 initiated litigation against defendants 2 and 3 in the tribunal de grande instance in France (hereinafter the ‘Court of First Instance’), within the jurisdiction of defendant 2’s headquarters. The defendants summoned the plaintiff as a guarantor, who was the manufacturer of the refrigerator.
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The plaintiff objected, asserting the lack of jurisdiction of the French court in favour of a German court's competence. However, this objection was overruled by the French court (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’). The plaintiff challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal, proceeding to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
The plaintiff contended that the French court lacked jurisdiction, citing a specific jurisdiction clause in their contract with defendant 3. According to this clause, jurisdiction was purportedly vested in the German courts as per Article 25 of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (1). The plaintiff also alleged that the conditions of a jurisdiction clause in the general terms of sale on its website had been tacitly accepted by defendant 3 and that the parties were accustomed to agreeing on such terms.
The Supreme Court cited Article 25(1) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast), which states that ‘if the parties, [...], have agreed that a court or the courts of a Member State are to have jurisdiction to settle any disputes [...], that court or those courts shall have jurisdiction unless the agreement is null and void as to its substantive validity [...]. Such jurisdiction shall be exclusive unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The agreement conferring jurisdiction shall be either: a) in writing or evidenced in writing; b) in a form which accords with practices which the parties have established between themselves; or c) in international trade or commerce, in a form which accords with a usage of which the parties are or ought to have been aware and which in such trade or commerce is widely known to, and regularly observed by, parties to contracts of the type involved in the particular trade or commerce concerned.’
The Supreme Court ruled that the jurisdiction clause in the contract was not valid, as it had not been accepted by the opposing party. Defendant 3 had not signed the order confirmation, and neither the delivery nor the invoice provided evidence that defendant 3 had agreed to the general terms and conditions. Furthermore, the Supreme Court determined that the claim of implied acceptance was unsubstantiated, and the Court of Appeal had failed to adequately justify its decision on this matter.
The Supreme Court criticised the reasoning of the Court of Appeal and consequently remanded the case for further review and reconsideration.
(1) Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast).