The future plaintiff purchased a used notebook from the future defendant via eBay for the price of 1214 Euros. When it was delivered to her cash on delivery on June 6, 2007, the buyer discovered that the device had a scratch and a crack. She revoked the purchase agreement, returned the notebook, and demanded the purchase price from the seller.
Furthermore, she left a negative review about the seller on eBay.
The seller refused to refund the money, claiming that the – in her view – false reviews had caused her significant loss of profit. She demanded that the buyer retract these reviews.
The buyer thereupon turned to the Munich Local Court and prevailed:
The rescission of the purchase contract was justified due to the existing crack and scratches. A right of retention based on the alleged incorrect review on eBay does not exist because the required "connexity" of the claims is lacking. For this, the mutual claims would have to be in such a close natural and economic connection that a unilateral pursuit of a claim would appear to be in bad faith. This was not the case here, as it was not apparent why the plaintiff should be expected to wait any longer for the refund of her purchase price, which she was induced to pay by the seller's incorrect statements that the goods were free of defects. An offsetting against the refund claim was not possible, as the alleged loss of profit had neither been sufficiently substantiated nor proven. It was not even certain that the blocking of the defendant's member account was attributable to these reviews.
The judgment is legally binding.
Judgment of the Munich Local Court of February 4, 2009, Ref. No.: 262 C 34119/07
Source: Press release of the Munich Local Court No. 08/09
Goldberg Rechtsanwälte
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Lawyer for Information Technology Law (IT Law)
Email: info@goldberg.de
