Explanation of Article 342
The article clarifies the ruling in the event that multiple items are sold under a single contract of sale and a defect appears in some of them. There are two scenarios:
The first scenario: The sold items are indivisible, such as a set of dishes or marble pieces forming a single artistic decoration, and a defect appears in some of them. In this case, the buyer cannot return only the defective item; rather, they have the option to either return all items and recover the price or keep all items and receive a price difference.
The second scenario: The sold items are divisible, whether they are fungible goods like five generators of the same type, or non-fungible goods like five plots of land, and a defect appears in some of them. Here, the buyer has the option to request the annulment of the sale for the defective part only and recover the corresponding price, or to keep the defective part and claim a reduction in price due to the defect. The buyer cannot request the annulment of the sale for all defective items unless it is shown that the buyer would not have agreed to the contract without the defective part, such as if the generators were for a project requiring that specific number of that type, or if the lands were for building a school requiring the combined area of the lands.
In applying the ruling of the article, the following should be considered:
- The rules that were previously explained in Article (33) apply to the request for annulment or price difference, whether for all or part of the sold items. This includes the buyer's right to compensation for damages caused by the defect, whether they request annulment or a price difference, and the court's right to reject the annulment request if the defect causes only minor damage, limiting the buyer's right to request a price difference.
- The criterion for the defectiveness of some of the sold items is objective and does not differ from the criterion for the defectiveness of the sold item previously stated in Article (33). However, the buyer's right to request annulment of the sale for all divisible items due to the defectiveness of some is a subjective criterion related to the buyer's personal situation. If it is proven that they would not have agreed to the contract without the defective part, they have the right to request annulment for all of it.
Related To
Article 342
If multiple items are sold in bulk, and a defect is found in some of the items and division of said items would not result in any harm, the buyer may demand termination of the sale of the defective part; he may also retain such part and demand the price difference from the seller. The buyer may not, however, demand termination with respect to all of the sold items, unless it is established that he would not have concluded the contract had he known of the defective part.