16 CISG

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LEGAL REASONING

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An examination of the evidence attached to the briefs (on page 66) leads us to the conclusion that by means of an e-mail dated June 19th, 2008, the company Grúas Andaluza, SA, informed the plaintiff, KranE MASCHINEN SERVICE GMBH & CO. HANDELS KG (hereinafter KRANE), the amendment of the invoice of sale, setting 512,000 Euros as the price of the crane, with delivery in the Port of Bilbao. Grúas Andaluza, S.A. offered the possibility to KRANE to perform the transaction in advance, provided that it would be made prior to 25th June 2008, delivering an up-front payment of 60,000 Euros as proof of reserve.

The invoice corresponding to the abovementioned transaction, issued by GRÚAS ANDALUZA, S.A., is attached to the claim on page 68, document number 16. The claimant KRANE, on 20th June 2008, made a 60,000 Euros bank deposit in favor of the defendant, page 70. It is recorded that the bank deposit was rejected by GRÚAS ANDALUZA, S.A. On 20th June 2008, GRÚAS ANDALUZA, S.A. notified by phone to KRANE that another purchaser had contacted the former to inform that the whole crane price would be paid by means of a bank deposit. GRÚAS ANDALUZA, S.A. also informed KRANE about their intention to terminate the contract, and as a result of this decision, GRÚAS ANDALUZA, S.A. ordered the bank not to accept any bank deposit.

Article 14 of Vienna Convention establishes: ‘1) A proposal for concluding a contract addressed to one or more specific persons constitutes an offer if it is sufficiently definite and indicates the intention of the offeror to be bound in case of acceptance. A proposal is sufficiently definite if it indicates the goods and expressly or implicitly fixes or makes provision for determining the quantity and the price’.

Article 15 states that: ‘1) An offer becomes effective when it reaches the offeree. 2) An offer, even if it is irrevocable, may be withdrawn if the withdrawal reaches the offeree before or at the same time as the offer’.

Article 16 establishes that: ‘1) Until a contract is concluded an offer may be revoked if the revocation reaches the offeree before he has dispatched an acceptance. 2) However, an offer cannot be revoked: a) if it indicates, whether by stating a fixed time for acceptance or otherwise, that it is irrevocable; or b) if it was reasonable for the offeree to rely on the offer as being irrevocable and the offeree has acted in reliance on the offer.

Taking into