LG Frankfurt; 2016-12-22; 2-24 S 123/16
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:LGFFM:2016:1222.2.24S123.16.0A
Date: 2016-12-22
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82016DE1222(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
A private person (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) sued an air carrier (hereinafter ‘the defendant’) seeking compensation for damage.
The plaintiff booked through an online platform a first flight from Frankfurt am Main to Madrid, which went according to the schedule, and a connecting flight from Madrid to Buenos Aires, with the plane landing with a five-hour delay.
The defendant claimed that the first flight had not been conducted by the defendant itself, but by its independent subsidiary.
The Amtsgericht Frankfurt (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) dismissed the action claiming a lack of jurisdiction with regard to the place of performance under Article 7(1)(b) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (1).
The appeal against this decision filed by the plaintiff with the Landgericht Frankfurt am Main (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) was admissible and justified.
The opinion of the Court of First Instance that place of performance could be only there where the delayed flight started or landed does not withstand closer legal examination.
The whole service provided by the defendant consisted of two flights, and therefore, a possible place of performance is also the place of departure of the first flight, i.e. Frankfurt am Main.
Article 7(1)(b) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) provides for a uniform place of jurisdiction being at the place of the performance of the agreement for all actions arising out of or in connection with the sale or service agreement which is the subject-matter of the dispute, applying also to cases where the obligation, which is the subject-matter of the dispute, had not been performed at such place.
The defendant was obliged to provide the service not only in Madrid or Buenos Aires, but also in Frankfurt am Main. According to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, a main service cannot be established in these cases. The place of jurisdiction is given both in Frankfurt am Main as well as in Madrid.
The Court of Appeal changed the judgment of the Court of First Instance an ordered the defendant to pay the compensation.
(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.