On 21 February 2025, a judgment of the Noord-Nederland District Court was published in a dispute over defects found after the delivery of a yacht (ECLI:NL:RBNNE:2024:5321).
Facts presented
A buyer bought a second-hand yacht. The sales advertisement stated that the yacht was ‘neatly maintained’. The sales contract stipulates that the buyer buys the yacht ‘in the apparent condition in which it was found upon inspection by or on behalf of the buyer’ and provides for a mechanism if defects are found during a purchase inspection. A number of defects are found during the inspection, including an outer bearing of the propeller shaft that has excessive clearance and a loose contact at the autopilot. The parties agree that these defects will be repaired at the seller’s expense prior to delivery of the yacht. When the buyer’s skipper sails the yacht to the berth leased by the buyer after delivery, defects are again found, including vibrations in the drive shaft whose stern tube was renewed and an overheated engine at high power.
The buyer believes that the seller should remedy these defects at its own expense. The seller believes that the buyer bought the yacht ‘as is’ and should bear the repair costs himself. The buyer eventually has the defects repaired and claims reimbursement from the seller for the costs incurred.
Court considerations
The court considers that the buyer was entitled to expect that the yacht would be delivered without defects preventing normal use, without overdue maintenance and that the defects found during the purchase inspection would be remedied. Against that background, the court held that there were three defects on the yacht, the first two of which were related to defects found at the purchase inspection and the third of which resulted from insufficient maintenance of the yacht by the seller.
Firstly, the court considers that the buyer had sufficiently demonstrated that the vibrations in the propeller shaft and the resulting wear and tear on the engine mounts were the result of an improperly executed repair of the propeller shaft outer bearing prior to delivery of the yacht. Secondly, the court holds that the malfunctioning autopilot was the result of a repair not carried out at all prior to the delivery of the yacht. Finally, according to the court, the overheated engine was the result of dirty coolers (heat exchangers) that would have been cleaned by the seller if properly maintained.
The court also rules that the buyer had fulfilled its investigative duty by taking trial runs and conducting a purchase inspection, and that the buyer did not have to doubt the condition of the yacht’s maintenance touted in the sales advertisement. The repair costs claimed by the buyer are awarded as undisputed. The costs incurred by the buyer for demurrage and insurance premiums are also awarded.
Lessons learned
This case demonstrates the importance of clear language in the sales contract and related documentation. In case of a dispute over the wording of such documents, the court or arbitrator will have to interpret them. In doing so, the text of a sales advertisement gives context to what a buyer – especially a consumer – could reasonably expect from the yacht. As was the case in a ruling we covered before (see here), the text of the sale advertisement here ultimately leads to liability of the seller.
We have extensive experience in drafting contracts for the sale of yachts, and litigating such contracts on behalf of buyers and sellers. If you have any questions about the content of such contracts, please feel free to contact us.
