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CISG-online number
691
Case name
McDowell Valley Vineyards, Inc. v. Sabaté USA, Inc. et al.
Jurisdiction
USA
Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Judge
Samuel Conti (Senior District Judge)
Date of decision
01 November 2005
Case nr./docket nr.
C-04-0708 SC
Claimant 1
Name
McDowell Valley Vineyards, Inc.
Place of business
USA
Role in transaction
Buyer
Respondents 5
Name
Sabaté USA, Inc.
Place of business
USA
Role in transaction
Seller
Name
Sabaté SAS
Place of business
France
Role in transaction
Seller‘s parent company
Name
Sabaté SA
Place of business
France
Role in transaction
Company related to seller (not party to the sales contract)
Name
Sabaté Diosos Group SA
Place of business
France
Role in transaction
Company related to seller (not party to the sales contract)
Name
Does 1-100
Place of business
Unspecified
Seller 1
Name
Sabaté USA, Inc.
Place of business
USA
Buyer 1
Name
McDowell Valley Vineyards, Inc.
Place of business
USA
Category of goods
63: Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)
Goods as per contract
287,000 non-agglomerated wine corks (trade name: "Altec")
Price
33'000.00 USD (U.S. Dollar)
CISG applicable
no, Art. 1(1) (non-applicability of the CISG to domestic sales contract)
CISG applied
no
Key CISG provisions applied
Art. 1(1)(a)
This decision is cited by 3
Zodiac Seats US LLC v. Synergy Aerospace Corp.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
USA, 23 April 2019 – 4:17-cv-00410-ALM-KPJ, CISG-online 4234
Zodiac Seats US LLC v. Synergy Aerospace Corp.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
USA, 05 February 2019 – 4:17-cv-00410-ALM-KPJ, CISG-online 4229
Skelton Truck Lines, Ltd. v. PeopleNet Communications Corp. et al.
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
USA, 18 January 2017 – 16-46 (JRT/JSM), CISG-online 5491
Editorial remark
by Till Maier-Lohmann
The (federal) court found itself not to be the competent body to decide the substance of the case, since the federal law in form of the CISG was not applicable. This was due to the fact that the seller Sabaté USA was found to have made the relevant representation in the negotiations. Since the buyer was also seated in the US, the parties did not have their seats in two different contracting states (Art. 1(1)(a) CISG). The seller was unsuccessful in claiming that the seller's French mother company (Sabaté SAS) was the relevant contracting partner of McDowell Valley Vineyards.
Decision published in 1
2005 Westlaw (WL) 2893848 [Full text – in English]
Comments on this decision 2
Marlyse McQuillen, 'The Development of a Federal CISG Common Law in U.S. Courts: Patterns of Interpretation and Citation', 61 University of Miami Law Review (U. Miami L. Rev.) (2007), 509–537, at 517–518 [– in English]  
Marcia J. Staff, 'United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: Lessons Learned from Five Years of Cases', 6 South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business (S.C. J. Int'l L. & Bus.) (2009), 1–52, at 43–44 [– in English]  
Full text of decision 1
Full text of decision
Original language: English