Tartu Maakohus Tartu kohtumaja; 2025-10-03; 2-25-12473/3
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:EE:TMK:2025:2.25.12473.15431
Date: 2025-10-03
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Estonia

82025EE1003(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, decided by the Tartu Maakohus (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’), concerned international jurisdiction in a consumer dispute under the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (1).
The A. F. G. OÜ (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) brought an action against E. J. P. (hereinafter ‘the defendant’) seeking payment of EUR 1 784 and ancillary claims arising from a hire-purchase agreement concluded between the defendant (as a consumer) and a creditor, whose claims had been assigned to the plaintiff.
The Court of First Instance invited the plaintiff to justify jurisdiction, indicating that, in a dispute arising from a consumer credit contract, Article 17(1) and Article 18(2) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) confer jurisdiction only on the courts of the Member State where the consumer is habitually resident, unless a valid jurisdiction agreement exists under Article 19. The plaintiff provided information on various addresses but did not rely on, and the contract did not disclose, any jurisdiction agreement within the meaning of Article 19.
Assessing the defendant’s habitual residence in accordance with national law, the Court of First Instance found that the material before it indicated that the defendant’s residence was in Finland. In particular, the plaintiff had relied in other proceedings on the defendant’s residence in Finland and had sought documentation to enforce a judgment there; the population register likewise recorded Finnish addresses and contact details. The Court held that the plaintiff had not provided information demonstrating that the defendant’s habitual residence was in Estonia.
The Court of First Instance therefore refused to admit the action for lack of international jurisdiction.
(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).