Brief of the case

    The defendant of a car service center is an individual industrial and commercial business, and Li is its operator. On February 4, 2023, Plaintiff Yue sent all of his non-operating vehicles to an automobile service center of Defendant for repair and payment of the corresponding fees. After the repair, Li Mou test process and the case of outsiders Sun Mou traffic accident caused damage to the vehicle. The traffic police department determined that Li Mou and the case outsiders Sun Mou bear the same responsibility for the accident. On February 27, 2023, Sun Moumou, an outsider in the case, applied to the court for property preservation and impounded the vehicle involved. To this end, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the court, asking the defendant to compensate for the loss of the vehicle and alternative transportation costs.

Court hearing

    After hearing, the court held that there was a repair contract relationship between the original and the defendant, and both parties should fully perform their obligations in accordance with the agreement. The operator of the defendant in the case shall be liable for compensation if a traffic accident occurs in the course of the test run after repair, resulting in the damage of the plaintiff's vehicle. The loss of the plaintiff's vehicle has been assessed and determined by the appraisal agency, so the defendant shall pay 38,614.00 yuan to the plaintiff according to the assessed price. After the accident, if the vehicle involved in the accident is impounded according to law and cannot be delivered to the plaintiff, it shall be deemed to be caused by the defendant's breach of contract, and the alternative transportation costs caused by the plaintiff's inability to use the vehicle shall belong to the inevitable losses caused by the defendant to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff shall have the right to claim compensation from the defendant. According to the nature and use of the vehicle, the distance between the plaintiff's residence and the place of work, and the market price of the local taxi, the court determines that the defendant shall pay compensation to the plaintiff at the standard of 70 yuan per day.

Judge's statement

    The repair contract is one of the types of contract disputes. Article 784 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the contractor shall properly keep the materials provided by the ordering party and the results of the work completed, and shall be liable for compensation if any damage or loss is caused by improper storage. In this case, the plaintiff delivered the vehicle to the defendant for repair, and the defendant, as a professional organization, has both the obligation to maintain the vehicle and the obligation to keep the vehicle properly. The defendant caused damage to the vehicle in the test stage has constituted a breach of contract and should compensate the plaintiff for the loss. For the determination of the amount of loss, the plaintiff claims to include two aspects: vehicle loss and alternative transportation costs. 

    With respect to the loss of the vehicle, the damage to the vehicle was a direct property loss caused by the defendant's breach of contract, and the amount of the loss had been assessed by the appraisal body, and the defendant had no objection to it, and the court supported it. As for alternative transportation expenses, the reason for this expense is that the plaintiff cannot use the vehicle normally due to the defendant's breach of contract, and the plaintiff has to seek other transportation methods to replace it in order to meet the transportation needs of his daily travel and necessary business processing, which belongs to the indirect loss caused by the defendant's breach of contract and should be compensated according to law. However, the amount of compensation shall be determined by comprehensive analysis, which shall not exceed the losses that may be caused by breach of contract foreseen or should be foreseen by the defendant when entering into the contract, and shall also ensure that the amount of compensation borne by the defendant can effectively compensate for the actual losses of the plaintiff. Therefore, the nature and use of the vehicle, the distance between the plaintiff's residence and work place and the market price of the local taxi shall be comprehensively analyzed. The defendant decides to pay compensation to the plaintiff at the standard of 70 yuan per day.

    This article is transferred from the "Shandong High Law" wechat public number, thank you!