Invalid travel-cancellation clauses and calculation of the organizer’s loss

101 C 385/09Court of First InstanceFeb 8, 2010Civil lawGranted

Open source

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

In this first-instance civil judgment, the Bonn District Court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff €280.34 and a further €46.41, with interest on both sums from 22 July 2009, and to bear the costs. The dispute arose from a travel cancellation. The court’s stated principles reject travel-agency standard terms that impose a cancellation charge unrelated to the travel price or combine a lump-sum charge with concrete loss calculation. If a lump sum is invalid, guideline percentages do not become agreed terms: the organizer must establish its concrete loss and address objectively possible alternative use of the travel services.

Omnilex headnote

Sections 651i(3) and 651m BGB; §§ 307(1), 309 no. 5(a) BGB; § 651i(2), third sentence, BGB: Standard terms providing for a cancellation charge independent of the travel price are invalid. The combination of a cancellation lump sum and calculation of concrete loss in the same terms is likewise incompatible with the requirements governing standard terms. If a lump-sum clause is invalid, percentages derived from statutory guidelines do not take its place as an agreed calculation method; the organizer’s loss must instead be calculated concretely under § 651i(2), third sentence, BGB. In that calculation, the relevant deduction is the objectively possible alternative use of the travel services, not merely their actual alternative use. Where cancellation occurs well before departure, the organizer must substantiate why such alternative use was not possible.

Full text

Amtsgericht Bonn — 101 C 385/09 — Urteil

Entscheidungsdatum: 2010-02-08

Aktenzeichen: 101 C 385/09

ECLI: ECLI:DE:AGBN:2010:0208.101C385.09.00

Dokumenttyp: Urteil

Spruchkörper: 101. Zivilabteilung

Leitsätze

  1. Klauseln in AGB, die eine vom Reisepreis unabhängige Pauschale vorsehen, verstoßen gegen §§ 651i Abs. 3, 651m BGB.

  2. Die Kombination von Storno-Pauschale und konkreter Schadensberechnung in AGB verstößt geben §§ 307 Abs. 1 BGB, 309 Nr. 5 a BGB.

  3. Ist eine Pauschale unwirksam, gelten nicht die den gesetzlichen Richtlinien entsprechenden Prozentsätze als vereinbart. Vielmehr ist der Schaden konkret nach § 651i Abs. 2 S. 3 BGB zu berechnen.

  4. Im Rahmen des § 651i Abs. 2 S 3 BGB ist nicht die tatsächliche anderweitige Verwendung, sondern die objektiv noch mögliche anderweitige Verwendung vom Reisepreis in Abzug zu bringen. Insbesondere bei zeitlich weit vor Reiseantritt erfolgten Kündigungen muss der Reiseveranstalter substantiiert vortragen, weshalb eine anderweitige Verwendung der Reiseleistung nicht möglich gewesen ist.

Tenor

Die Beklagte wird verurteilt, an die Klägerin 280,34 € nebst Zinsen in Höhe von 5 Prozentpunkten über dem Basiszinssatz seit dem 22.07.2009 sowie weitere 46,41 € nebst Zinsen hieraus in Höhe von 5 Prozentpunkten über dem Basiszinssatz seit dem 22.07.2009 zu zahlen.

Die Kosten des Rechtsstreits trägt die Beklagte.

Das Urteil ist vorläufig vollstreckbar.

Keywords

travel cancellationstandard termscancellation chargesconcrete lossalternative use

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Whether the defendant must pay the amounts awarded in connection with the travel cancellation.

The defendant must pay the awarded amounts; any cancellation charge must be assessed by reference to the organizer’s concrete loss, including objectively possible alternative use of the travel services.

A fixed charge independent of the travel price is invalid. Combining a cancellation lump sum with calculation of actual loss is also invalid. Invalid lump sums are not replaced by guideline percentages; the loss is calculated concretely, and the organizer must substantiate why alternative use was not objectively possible.

Allocation of the costs of the proceedings.

The defendant bears the costs of the proceedings.

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