Decorating the wedding room was a happy event, but three months after the renovation of the new house, Mr. and Mrs. He found that there were several wormholes on the purchased oak antique solid wood floor, which completely destroyed the mood of the newlywed couple. Mr. He believed that the insect pest of the floor came from the floor itself, so he found the floor sales company and the distribution company responsible for installing the floor at the door, but the two companies refused to compensate, and Mr. He angrily sued the two companies and the floor manufacturers in court. Recently, the Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court heard the product liability dispute, and Mr. He's request for repairing the floor loss and insecticidal costs was finally supported by the court.
During the trial, the sales company argued that it had fulfilled its obligation to inspect the incoming goods, and that the moth was an inherent quality problem of the floor that could not be detected through testing, so it should not bear the liability for compensation. At the same time, the installation of the distribution company and the manufacturer also argued that the floor in the production process needs to be dried and painted at high temperatures, this process is enough to kill moths, so it is believed that the floor can not bring its own moths or insect eggs, the two companies agreed to replace mr. Ho's house was mothed floor, but did not agree to replace the entire floor.
The key to the case is to determine where the moths in the floor come from and whether the floor comes with it. Where can we find such an appraisal institution for professional appraisal? The judge finally found the Shanghai Entomological Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and commissioned it to identify whether the moth was brought by the floor. The Shanghai Entomological Museum issued a professional appraisal report, and the result was that the floor was covered with live brown mealybugs before delivery and laying. Here, popularize a little knowledge, brown powdery beetle is a pest, moth dry wood, building materials, furniture, etc., the mothed part only has the epidermis, losing economic value. As for whether all the floors should be replaced, the court also entrusted the relevant agencies to conduct an appraisal, taking into account the habits and activity characteristics of the brown mealybugs, the appraisal opinion was that the floor should be replaced in its entirety.
After a public trial, the court held that consumers have the right to obtain quality assurance when purchasing goods, and consumers enjoy the right to compensation in accordance with law when they suffer personal or property damage due to the purchase, use of goods or services. Consumers or other victims who cause personal or property damage due to defective goods may request compensation from the seller or producer. In this case, the manufacturer should be liable for compensation for quality problems in the flooring produced by the manufacturer. Distributors are not producers and direct sellers, so they are not liable. The floor found by the sales company through the purchase inspection is a live brown mealyfish, so it is not responsible.
In the end, the court ordered the manufacturer to pay Mr. Ho the entire cost of floor repair of 28,000 yuan. In addition, due to the characteristics of the activity of the brown mealyfish may lead to safety hazards in other wooden furniture of Mr. He's home, the court also upheld Mr. He's reasonable request for insecticide of other wooden furniture, etc., and decided to settle the cost of insecticide of 3,000 yuan and the cost of renting a house where Mr. He lived outside during the floor repair period of 2,000 yuan, which was also borne by the manufacturer.
(The above company names are pseudonyms)
Source| Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court
Text: Xie Yanwen
Responsible Editor | Qiu Yue
The statement | reprinted please indicate that it is from the "Pujiang Tianping" public account
