This was an appeal in cassation against the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal, 24 February 1994. Under bills of lading issued in Toamasina (Madagascar), refrigerated containers containing boxes of lychees were loaded on the Diego and the Aquitania to be carried by sea to the port of Le Havre (France) by Mediterranean Shipping Co (the maritime carrier). Following losses and damage to goods noted on arrival, Bambao, the receiver, claimed from the maritime carrier that part of its damage which had not been compensated by its insurer. The maritime carrier was ordered to compensate Bambao for all the losses noted on arrival.

Held: Partial cassation.

Having regard to art 4.2 of the Hague Rules, the maritime carrier is totally or partially exempted from the liability which is presumed against it for loss and damage to the goods transported, if it demonstrates the existence of one of the reasons for exemption admitted by the aforementioned provision and, in whole or in part, its causal link with the damage. After noting that, for the cargo on the Diego, the losses should also be attributed, in a certain proportion, to the poor quality of the fruit; and that, for the cargo on the Aquitania, in addition to the poor quality of the fruit, there was also a question about their conditioning and the stowage of the boxes of fruit inside the containers, without stipulating why these circumstances did not constitute inherent defect of the goods, insufficient packaging, or the act or omission of the shipper, referred to in arts 4.2.m, 4.2.n and 4.2.i of the Hague Rules, the Court of Appeal did not provide a legal basis for its decision.

For these reasons, the judgment under appeal is struck down and annulled, but only in that it ordered the maritime carrier to pay Bambao FRF 1,195,064.96 with interest. The case and the parties are therefore returned to the state they were in before the aforementioned judgment, and the case is referred to the Rouen Court of Appeal to be decided correctly.