Storage Contract as Accessory to Vehicle Repair Contract

Extract

[...] Unfortunately, during her hair treatment, it was stolen. The non-compliance with the obligation of custody of the hairdresser was retained, although there was no contract or apparent consent. For this, the judges based themselves on the old article 1135 of the Civil Code which provided: « The conventions bind not only to what is expressed in them, but also to all the consequences that equity, usage, or law give to the obligation according to its nature. In the present judgment, the deposit contract is characterized because it is a logical consequence of the main contract of enterprise justified in particular by usage. [...]

[...] n° 230 - Liability of the Depositor in Case of Failure to Meet Conservation Obligation Do you think the qualification of a deposit contract is relevant? Could one have hesitated with other qualifications? ? The deposit contract is stated in Article 1915 of the Civil Code stating: « The deposit, in general, is an act by which one receives the thing from another, at the charge of keeping it and returning it in kind. Therefore, it is characterized when three cumulative conditions are met: ? Remise of a movable thing : In this case, the return of a car to the garage constitutes a deposit. ? [...]

[...] Restitution in nature : The garage must return the vehicle once the repair is completed At first glance, all conditions seem to be met to characterize the deposit contract. However, it is necessary to distinguish it from the business contract defined in Article 1710 of the Civil Code which provides : « The hiring of work is a contract by which one of the parties undertakes to do something for the other, for a price agreed upon between them. This definition, although broad, has given rise to many disputes. [...]

[...] IV) What about the consent to the accessory deposit contract of the enterprise contract ? The difficulty of qualifying the contract between garage Lefèvre and Club du meuble society lies in the fact that no written document has been drawn up between the two parties. Only tacit commitments can be identified by the judge according to his appreciation and the evidence presented. This can raise a problem concerning the consent of the parties, which is a necessary condition for the validity of a contract. [...]

[...] Thus, conservation and surveillance, which are part of the depositary's obligation to keep, are therefore in the service of repair, not the reverse. III) How is the judge's appreciation of the depositary's fault regarding his obligation to keep the thing? Can he exempt himself? In the first place, jurisprudence distinguishes two types of depositaries, the remunerated depositary and the gratuitous depositary. The liability of the first is treated with greater rigor by the judge. According to Article 1928 of the Civil Code, he must respect an enhanced obligation of means, and in the event of loss, it is up to him to prove that he has committed no fault. [...]