Application over time of Article L. 133-8 of the Commercial Code
Cass. com., January 20, 2021, n° 19-15.692
Article L. 133-8 of the Commercial Code governing the inexcusable fault of the carrier or freight forwarder applies to transport commission contracts concluded after December 10, 2009, even in the case of tacit renewal at the end of a contract concluded before the entry into force of the law.
Quality of freight forwarder does not presume
CA Versailles, February 4, 2021, n° 18/05468
Freight forwarder, also called freight forwarder, means any service provider who organizes and arranges, under his responsibility and in his own name, a transport of goods in the modes and means of his choice on behalf of a principal. The operator who has not carried out the physical transport operations and who is imposed the conditions of organization of transport by the instructing party is not, in principle, the freight forwarder, a quality which implies freedom in the organization of the shipment. With regard to liability, Article L. 3224-1 of the Transport Code equates the road carrier using a subcontractor to a freight forwarder.
… and must be demonstrated by the person entitled to the goods
CA Aix-en-Provence, April 22, 2021, n° 18/16688
A press group responsible for making available to its contracting partner its points of sale, to facilitate the delivery of packages entrusted to it and to organize the delivery, does not have the quality of freight forwarder.
Freight forwarder’s privilege
Cass. com., 5 May 2021, n° 19-23.382
The freight forwarder does not commit a manifestly unlawful disorder by detaining the goods if he learns that ownership is reserved to the supplier after the conclusion of the contract of his assignment and the delivery of the goods by the principal. The good faith of the freight forwarder is assessed at that particular moment and not later.
Choice of substitutes
CA Aix-en-Provence, 4 March 2021, n° 18/03974
The freight forwarder is considered to have taken all the necessary measures to secure the cargo when it has used a recognized airline on the market and its subcontractor specialized in the storage of goods.