Nullity of Acts Performed by Minors Under French Civil Code

Extract

[...] A judgment of 15 October 2015 rendered by the Court of Appeal of Caen qualified as non-usual act the fact for a 17-year-old minor to buy a scooter. Finally, Article 1149 of the Civil Code provides for the possibility of annulment for lesion of the ordinary acts authorized by Article 1148 of the said Code, except when this results from an unpredictable event, and it does not matter whether the minor has or has not made a simple declaration of majority, it is up to the co-contractor to verify the majority. [...]

[...] If, under Article 1149 of the Civil Code, the act could be null for simple lesion, in this case, no lesion seems to be characterized by the adequacy of the price to the object of the sale. Olivier years old, is older than his age. He was able to, by lying about his age, open an account in a bank near his home. The account agreement grants him a credit card and a overdraft authorization. Overjoyed, he uses and abuses these banking facilities and digs a hole of 1800 euros, the maximum authorized amount, in a month . [...]

[...] Article 1151 of the Civil Code states that the co-contractor of the minor may oppose the action for nullity brought against him if the act performed by the minor was not an ordinary act by demonstrating the usefulness of this act for the minor and the absence of lesion. Solution : 1 - So let the judge assess sovereignly that Sonia's purchase of the scooter is not an ordinary act, which is the most likely in light of the jurisprudence and the risks that the purchase of buying a scooter implies for a minor. [...]

[...] On the other hand, current acts performed by the minor can only be annulled for damage in the sense of Article 1149 of the Civil Code, which, in its second paragraph, specifies that a simple declaration of majority does not prevent the annulment of the act. It is only in the case of deceitful maneuvers intended to deceive the co-contractor about his age that the minor is deprived of his right to act in nullity for incapacity, as stated in the judgment rendered by the first civil chamber of the Court of Cassation on November 12, 1998. [...]

[...] Olivier or his legal representatives will be able to request and obtain the nullity of the act, in this case, the opening of the bank account, because the latter does not constitute a current act and has not been profitable or useful for Olivier. As for restitution, in accordance with Article 1352-4 of the Civil Code, restitution will not be required, Olivier having withdrawn no profit from the annulled act, the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation having been able to appreciate in a similar case the absence of restitution for the minor. Olivier or his parents would therefore not be required to repay the overdraft after having annulled the act constituted by the opening of the account. [...]