Direct claims by sub-buyers (action directe) and the CISG

French, Belgium and Luxembourg law provide a buyers in a chain of contracts with a direct claim (action directe) against prior sellers in the chain. Whether such a claim is preempted by the CISG and the interplay has been addressed by several court decisions and in literature:

Case law:

Thermo King Corp. v. Cigna Insurance Company of Europe SA et al.
Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court)
France, 05 January 1999 – 96-19.992, CISG-online 431

Tegelfabriek van Massenhoven BVBA v. Graniti Fiandre S.p.A.
Hof van Cassatie van België/Cour de cassation de Belgique (Belgian Supreme Court)
Belgium, 15 December 2006 – C.04.0491.N, CISG-online 4854

Held that the CISG can govern the direct claim brought by a Belgian sub-buyer against the initial Italian CISG seller of the goods by way of an "action directe" under Belgian law, because rights arising from the goods' non-conformity follow the goods like an accessory. However, this also means that the Italian seller can invoke any defense he had against the first buyer's claims also against all sub-buyers, including the Art. 39 CISG defense.

De Ruiter Seeds C.V. v. D.K.R. et al.
Hof van Cassatie van België/Cour de cassation de Belgique (Belgian Supreme Court)
Belgium, 23 April 2007 – C.04.0137.N/1, CISG-online 2890

Casalgrande Padana S.p.A. v. Citroën SAS
Cour d'appel de Lyon (Court of Appeal Lyon)
France, 27 March 2012 – 10/05199, CISG-online 4975

Held that the French sub-buyer's direct claim brought against the Italian manufacturer of the goods (and CISG seller) was non-contractual in nature ("de nature délictuelle ou quasi délictuelle et non pas contractuelle"); furthermore held that the CISG does not apply to the relationship between the sub-buyer and the CISG seller ("écarté l’application de la Convention de Vienne dans les rapports entre [French sub-buyer] et la société de droit italien [manufacturer/CISG seller]") and that Art. 39(2) CISG therefore cannot bar the sub-buyer's claim

Corrugated sheets (direct claim by sub-buyer) case
Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court)
France, 03 October 2018 – 17-10090, CISG-online 4455

Roofing panels (direct claim by sub-sub-buyer) case
Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court)
France, 16 January 2019 – 17-21477, CISG-online 4283

Wooden slats (direct claim by sub-buyer) case
Cour d'appel de Colmar (Court of Appeal Colmar)
France, 06 November 2020 – 18/04033, CISG-online 5582

Literature:

Jochen Bauerreis, Das französische Rechtsinstitut der action directe und seine Bedeutung in internationalen Vertragsketten, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot (2001) [– in German]

Jochen Bauerreis, 'Le rôle de l’action directe contractuelle dans les chaînes internationales de contrats', Revue critique de droit international privé (Rev. crit. dr. int. privé) (2000), 331–354 [– in French]

Nicolas Carette, 'Direct Contractual Claim of the Sub-buyer and International Sale of Goods: Applicable Law and Applicability of the CISG', 16 European Review of Private Law (ERPL) (2008), 583–605 [– in English]

Boris Dostal, 'Die action directe im Rahmen einer Lieferkette: Die jüngste Rechtsprechung der Cour de Cassation und der französischen Obergerichte', Internationales Handelsrecht (IHR) (2023), 141–151 [– in German]

Vincent Heuzé, 'De l'action directe dans les chaînes internationales de contrats de vente relevant de la Convention de Vienne', Revue critique de droit international privé (Rev. crit. dr. int. privé) (1999), 519–526 [– in French]

Vincent Heuzé, 'La convention de Vienne et l'action directe du sous-acquéreur contre le fabricant', Revue critique de droit international privé (Rev. crit. dr. int. privé) (2019), 534–539 [– in French]

Sebastian Jungemeyer, 'Haftungsrisiko für Exporteure: die französische "action directe en responsabilité" als Fallbeispiel für ein kaufvertragliches Durchgriffsrecht', Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (RIW) (2009), 701–706 [– in German]

Kyle B. Sill & Robert Stone Jeffrey, 'Up, around, over, and under: A Textual Case for Busting through the Supposed Privity Barrier of CISG Article 4', 38 North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commerce Regulation (N.C. J. Int'l L. & Com. Reg.) (2012), 697–728 [– in English]

Laurence Usunier, 'La chaîne de contrats chasse le droit uniforme', Revue trimestrielle de droit civil (RTD civ.) (2019), 394–397 [– in French]