French Consumer Law is a comprehensive and comparative overview of French and EU law in this field, covering: advertising, unfair commercial practices, conditions for the validity of contracts, unfair terms, product conformity, latent defects, product safety.

French Consumer Law

Before the 2005 reform, the courts held that the behavior of the seller or the existence of discussions in view of an amicable settlement were liable to defer the point of departure of the short period of Article 1648 of the Civil Code. The new wording of the text no longer seems to leave room for such an interpretation since Article 1648 now expressly lays down the starting point of the two-year  …

Deferral of the starting point

Before the 2005 reform, the courts held that the behavior of the seller or the existence of discussions in view of an amicable settlement were liable to defer the point of departure of the short period of Article 1648 of the Civil Code. The new wording of the text no longer seems to leave room for such an interpretation since Article 1648 now expressly lays down the starting point of the two-year period to bring an action on the date of discovery of the defect. Since many disputes based on the previous law are still pending, the rules laid down by the courts must be recalled.

In a case in which the seller had flagrantly attempted to defer the implementation of its warranty by invoking talks with its insurer, the intervention of an expert and a trial in Italy which, in reality, were non-existent, the trial court declared admissible an action brought by the buyer more than three years after his discovery of the defect . Similarly, the behavior of the seller who reassured the buyer as to the stabilization of the defect , who intervened on the thing several times, asking the buyer to wait pending the position of the manufacturer , or who suggested that the dispute could be settled amicably, taking months to indicate the name of its insurer , justifies the buyer's delay in taking action after the discovery of the defect. However, according to the Court of Cassation, the bad faith of the seller has no impact on the starting point of the period provided for by Article 1648 of the Civil Code .

2)  Discussions in view of an amicable settlement

According to the court, the existence of discussions between the seller and the buyer with a view to settling a dispute amicably may delay the starting point of the period laid down in Article 1648 until the date of the breakdown of the negotiations . Thus, the summons issued eighteen months after the appearance of the defect was found to comply with Article 1648 of the Civil Code, as the buyer had been encouraged to postpone his action by proposals for a recovery made by the seller . A settlement agreement was also considered to interrupt the limitation period for the action in respect of latent defects, and to start the limitation period once more from the date of its signature, and not from the failure to perform it . To benefit from the deferral, the buyer must prove the express will of the seller to engage in negotiations . The buyer cannot benefit from the deferral when the parties have not actually discussed a non-judicial settlement of their dispute .

  CA Colmar, 2 February 2003, LawLex200400000195JBJ.

  Cass. 3e civ.,16 May 1973, LawLex200700000792JBJ.

  CA Orléans, 23 June 2011, LawLex201200001666JBJ.

  Cass. com., 22 March 1994, LawLex200700000799JBJ.

  Cass. 3e civ., 7 October 2014, LawLex201600000235JBJ, which considers that, despite the presence of a limitation of liability clause, the time limit starts to run from the day on which the purchaser became fully aware of the defect.

 Cass. 1re civ., 16 July 1987, LawLex200400003471JBJ; 16 July 1998, LawLex200500005035JBJ; Cass. com., 7 November 2006, LawLex200700000790JBJ; CA Versailles, 11 April 2008, LawLex201200001898JBJ; CA Aix-en-Provence, 16 May 2008, LawLex201200001900JBJ; CA Versailles, 22 October 2009, LawLex201200001815JBJ; CA Douai, 23 May 2011, LawLex201200001909JBJ. Contra, CA Colmar, 7 September 1993, LawLex200600000163JBJ and CA Lyon, 10 April 2003, LawLex200300003415JBJ.

 CA Caen, 7 November 1995, LawLex200300004151JBJ; 23 June 2005, LawLex200600001715JBJ; CA Lyon, 9 November 2001, LawLex200500005521JBJ.

 CA Aix-en-Provence, 7 September 2012, LawLex201300000227JBJ.

 CA Paris, 2 September 1998, LawLex200500004219JBJ; CA Chambéry, 27 February 2007, LawLex200700000783JBJ.

 Cass. com., 11 December 2007, LawLex201200001503JBJ.

French Consumer Law

632. Deferral of the starting point

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

632. Deferral of the starting point

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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