Description

Case: Akseli (A) is the owner of a restaurant in Tampere (Finland). Each autumn he travels to western Europe to buy wine from different wine producers in Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Akseli offers the wines acquired from different winegrowers at his restaurant, where the wines can be found on the menu. In 2016 he has bought 360 bottles of ‘Castillo di Como riserva 2015’ from Giovanni (G), an Italian winegrower at Lake Como (Italy). In the years 2010 to 1015 Akseli always had negotiated with Giovanni personally and Akseli has once mentioned that he is in the gastronomy- and restaurant-business In 2016, because Giovanni was not present, he had dealt with Giovanni’s employee Flavio (F), who is entitled to sell the wine produced by Giovanni to clients.
In summer 2017 Victor (V), a Frenchman, who lives in Paris, visited Tampere and ordered dinner and drinks in Akseli’s restaurant. That is why a bottle of ‘Castillo di Como riserva 2015’, purchased by Akseli in 2016, was served to Victor. Unfortunatly that one bottle of wine lacked proper quality and was spoilt. That is why Victor suffered illness and had to be brougth to hospital that very night in Tampere and had to endure a painful treatment.
Victor intends to sue Akseli and Giovanni for damages and therefore he asks his lawyer Louis (L) to prepare a lawsuit. Louis wonders where he should start court proceedings and which law would be applicable.

Discuss the possible solutions on the basis of the facts given in this ease, make reference to decisions of the European Court of Justice and to scholars/ opinions and give some arguments for the solution found. It should be 4-5 pages.