Does the seller's security obligation include loading the sold product?

One business sold wooden planks to a customer who loaded them onto a trailer attached to his car with the help of a business employee. The customer then died in a car accident caused by the heavy weight of these boards. The victim's rights holders have sued the business for liability and compensation on the basis of a breach of his obligation to provide safety, information and warning.

The Court of Appeal condemns the business for failing to comply with its security obligation. She noted that the customer could not move safely given the weight of the boards. The business appeals to the Court of Cassation and considers that the customer had become the owner and guardian of the item purchased.

The Court of Cassation upholds the appeal judgment. It notes that the business did not inform the customer and the employee of the business of the total weight of the boards sold.

Thus, the business failed to fulfill its obligation to provide security, information and advice inherent in the sales contract. The Court thus integrates the loading of the sold product into the seller's safety obligation when this product includes "foreseeable" conditions of carriage for a non-professional.

Finally, the Court states that the car accident was exclusively due to the overloading of the trailer. The business is therefore entirely responsible for the victim’s accident.