Case number: 51
Article number: sales convention / 45(1)(b); 73(1); 74
Thessaurs issue:
Country of decision: Germany
Year of decision: 1991
Type of decision: Judicial decision

Case 51: CISG 45(1)(b); 73(1); 74
Germany: Amtsgericht Frankfurt 32 C 1074/90-41 31 January 1991
Excerpts published in German with comments by Jayme: Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax)
1991, 345

The plaintiff, an Italian manufacturer of shoes, demanded payment of the balance due under the contract with defendant, a
German company. The contract provided for payment of 40% of the purchase price upon delivery and the balance within sixty
days after delivery. The seller sent an invoice in September 1989 and shipped the goods in January 1989 but suspended
delivery without notifying the buyer, who was forced to pay more that 40% of the purchase price upon delivery in order to
obtain the goods.

The court held that the seller committed a breach of contract by suspending delivery without giving notice of the suspension to
the buyer and set off the claim of the seller for the balance of the purchase price against the claim of the buyer for damages
(art. 45(1)(b), 73(1) and 74 CISG).