Bundesgerichtshof; 2016-10-13; IX ZB 9/16
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:BGH:2016:131016BIXZB9.16.0
Date: 2016-10-13
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82016DE1013(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
A natural person domiciled in Germany (hereinafter ‘the defendant') was ordered by a judgment of the Court of First Instance in Kouvola, Finland to pay a certain sum to a Finnish company (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff'). The Court of First Instance in Kouvola, following an earlier opinion of the Finnish Supreme Court, declared its international jurisdiction to hear the claim of the plaintiff (to pay a final instalment and repayment of a discount on a show house).
The plaintiff, in favour of which the judgment of the Court of First Instance of Kouvola was issued, sought before the Landgericht Limburg, Germany (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance Limburg’) a declaration of enforceability of the Finnish judgment. The Court of First Instance in Limburg declared the Finnish judgment enforceable. The defendant’s appeal to the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) was not successful. Subsequently, the defendant appealed to the Bundesgerichtshof (hereinafter ‘the German Supreme Court’). The German Supreme Court annulled the contested decision and referred the case back to the Court of Appeal. After hearing new evidence, the Court of Appeal again dismissed the appeal.
The defendant filed another appeal to the German Supreme Court seeking the rejection of the application for a declaration of enforceability.
The (second) appeal was found inadmissible pursuant to Article 44 of the Brussels I Regulation (1) and § 574(1) first sentence of the ZPO (2). The case was not held of fundamental legal importance and neither the development of the law nor ensuring uniform application of laws called for a decision of the German Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeal correctly held that the claims of the plaintiff did not fall within ‘consumer matters’ as defined by Article 15 of the Brussels I Regulation. The show house was aimed to serve not only as a domicile for the defendant’s family, but also for the pursuing of professional and commercial activities (as the defendant had to perform representation activities in the favour of the plaintiff). There was a close connection between the contract to supply a show house and the agency contract, according to which the defendant was contracted to sell the wooden built houses of the plaintiff (Finnish company) in Germany.
Conversely, a consumer contract is only a contract under which a person covers his/her own needs and private consumption, and which has a connection with any kind of professional or commercial activities of that person.
The specific provisions provided by Article 16 of the Brussels I Regulation (3) cannot be applied where the professional and commercial purpose of the contract concerned plays more than a minor role.
The appeal did not contain any grounds for admissibility under § 574(2) of the ZPO. The Court of Appeal, by failing to consider that the defendant’s wife was a party to the contract and that the plaintiff did not provide the discount on the price of the show house, did not infringe the fundamental right of the defendant to a fair trial. Not considering these circumstances had no influence on the decision of the Court of Appeal (4).
The German Supreme Court rejected the defendant’s appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal as inadmissible.
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.
(2) Zivilprozessordnung (Code of Civil Procedure) of 30.1.1877, as subsequently amended.
(3) Jurisdiction based on the domicile of a consumer.
(4) Article 35(2) of the Brussels I Regulation provides that the Court of Appeal shall be bound by the findings of the Court of First Instance in Limburg on the basis of which it has accepted its international jurisdiction.