Recently, the People's Court of Gao'an City, Jiangxi Province ruled in the first instance on a ceramic tile transaction contract dispute case.
The plaintiff Li Moumou filed a lawsuit with the Gaoan City People’s Court in August 2020:
Because he contracted the decoration project of the inpatient department of the West Hospital of Wanzai County People's Hospital, he purchased a batch of ceramic tiles from a certain Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. on November 8, 2019, with a total value of 103,500 yuan. The two parties agreed that the delivery location was Wanzai County.
According to Li, he had paid the price as agreed, but as of the date of the lawsuit, Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. had not delivered the batch of ceramic tiles. Despite repeated negotiations by Li Moumou, the company repeatedly refused to deliver the ceramic tiles on the grounds that the batch of ceramic tiles had been damaged in traffic accidents during transportation.
Therefore, Li Moumou filed a request with the court to order Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. to compensate him for the loss of 103,500 yuan in payment and bear the litigation costs of this case.
Defendant Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. argued during the trial:
1. The facts stated by Li Moumou are inconsistent with the objective facts. The first batch of goods he purchased was purchased on November 8 and the transfer time was on November 7. The amount was 54,510 yuan. After the traffic accident occurred, The plaintiff transferred money again to purchase a second truckload of goods. It was not a purchase of two trucks of goods at once. The plaintiff had already received the second truckload of goods;
2. Li Moumou picked up the goods by himself, so the risk of the journey is borne by the plaintiff;
3. A traffic accident involving a transport vehicle caused damage to the plaintiff. Li Moumou should claim the right against the driver causing the accident for this loss.
The Gaoan City People’s Court found out:
On November 7, 2019, Li purchased a batch of ceramic tiles from a Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. and paid the defendant.
On November 8, 2019, a certain ceramics company in Jiangxi entrusted a trucking company to transport the goods involved in the case, and issued a sales order to Li, which stated "Customer: Wanzai Li, name of arrival project: Wan West Branch of Zai County People's Hospital, contact person: XXX, ceramic tile brand is XXX, specification model is 800*800, quantity is 1,300 pieces, unit price is 75 yuan, and the amount is 103,500 yuan." Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. confirmed the sales order by stamping the official seal of the company.
On November 9, 2019, a traffic accident occurred in a transport vehicle, causing damage to the goods involved. Li Moumou was unable to receive the goods.
rootBased on the above-mentioned facts, the dispute between the plaintiff and the defendant focused on whether the risk of damage to the goods during transportation was borne by the seller or the buyer, and the value of the damaged goods.
Gao'an City People's Court held that:
In a sales contract, before the subject matter is delivered, the risk is borne by the seller; after the subject matter is delivered, the risk is borne by the buyer.
In this case, the sales order issued by Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. to Li Moumou stated that the name of the arriving project was the West Branch of Wanzai County People's Hospital, and the company handled the transportation of the goods. No evidence was provided to prove that the two parties had separately agreed to deliver the goods. The location of the goods should be regarded as the delivery place agreed upon by both parties as the West Branch of Wanzai County People's Hospital, so the risk of the goods should also be transferred with the delivery of the goods.
Regarding the question of whether the value of the damaged goods is 103,500 yuan or 55,752 yuan. The sales order issued by Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. to Li Moumou stated that the price of ceramic tiles was 103,500 yuan, and the sales order was stamped with the official seal of the company for confirmation. The company claimed that the value of the subject matter involved in the case was 55,752 yuan. No valid evidence was provided, so the Gao'an City People's Court determined that the value of the damaged goods was 103,500 yuan.
In the end, the Gaoan City People's Court ruled that the defendant Jiangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd. should pay the plaintiff Li 103,500 yuan for the loss of goods and bear the case acceptance fee of 2,370 yuan.
(The article is reproduced from Ceramic Information)
