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CISG-online number
7398
Case name
Sport One S.a.r.l. v. NIKE Europe Operations Netherlands B.V.
Jurisdiction
France
Court
Cour d'appel de Paris (Court of Appeal Paris)
Chamber
Pôle 5 – Chambre 16 (Chambre commerciale internationale de Paris – CCIP) (Division 5 – Chamber 16 (International commercial chamber))
Judges
François Ancel (Presiding and Reporting Judge), Fabienne Schaller (Judge), Laure Aldebert (Judge), Clémentine Glemet (Griffier)
Date of decision
07 January 2020
Case nr./docket nr.
19/12209
Claimant 1
Respondent 1
Case History
Seller 1
Buyer 1
Category of goods
84: Articles of apparel and clothing accessories
Goods as per contract
Sportswear and footwear (brand: Nike)
CISG applicable
yes, due to parties' express choice of the CISG in their contract
CISG applied
no, because no matters governed by the CISG are addressed in this decision
(Domestic) law applied in addition
EU Brussels Ia (or Brussels I (recast)) Regulation No. 1215/2012
Non-provision-specific issues addressed
Distribution agreement; Liability for sudden termination of a commercial relationship (rupture brutale des relations commerciales)
Full text of decision 1
by Ulrich G. Schroeter
The present appellate decision deals with the French courts' jurisdiction under the EU "Brussels I (recast)" Regulation over claims brought by a French distributor (Sport One S.a.r.l. ) against a Dutch company (NIKE Europe Operations Netherlands B.V.) based on EU competition law and on French commercial law's concept of "rupture brutale des relations commerciales".
From a CISG perspective, the choice of law clause contained in Art. 12.1 of NIKE Europe Operations Netherlands's standard contract with its distributors (para. 44 of the present decision) is of interest, which reads (translated into English):
"Article 12 – Applicable law and jurisdiction
12.1 All orders will be considered as a contract concluded in the Netherlands and subject in all respects to Dutch law, including the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
12.2 The Buyer irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of Amsterdam (Netherlands) for any legal action or proceeding related to an Order and/or these Conditions.
12.3 Designed in favour of NIKE, clause 12.2 shall not affect NIKE's right to take action in any other jurisdiction".