Request for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de Primera Instancia No 2 de Fuengirola (Spain) lodged on 24 December 2021 – NM v Club La Costa (UK) PLC, sucursal en España, CLC Resort Management LTD, Midmark 2 LTD, CLC Resort Development LTD and European Resorts & Hotels, S.L.
(Case C-821/21)
Language of the case: Spanish
Referring court
Juzgado de Primera Instancia No 2 de Fuengirola
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: NM
Defendants: Club La Costa (UK) PLC, sucursal en España, CLC Resort Management LTD, Midmark 2 LTD, CLC Resort Development LTD and European Resorts & Hotels, S.L.
Questions referred
In relation to Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012:
In the case of consumer contracts to which Article 18(1) of the Brussels I Regulation is applicable, is it compatible with that regulation to interpret the term ‘the other party to a contract’ used in that provision as encompassing only a person who signed the contract, such that it cannot include natural or legal persons other than those who actually signed the contract?
If the term ‘the other party to a contract’ is interpreted as encompassing only a person who actually signed the contract, in situations in which both the consumer and ‘the other party to a contract’ are domiciled outside Spain, is it compatible with Article 18(1) of the Brussels I Regulation to conclude that the international jurisdiction of the Spanish courts cannot be determined by the fact that the group of undertakings to which ‘the other party to a contract’ belongs includes companies that are domiciled in Spain but did not sign the contract or signed different contracts other than that in respect of which a declaration of nullity is sought?
If ‘the other party to a contract’, as referred to in Article 18(1) of the Brussels I Regulation, provides evidence that its domicile is established in the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 63(2) of the regulation, is it compatible with that provision to conclude that a domicile so established delimits the option that can be exercised under Article 18(1)? And, in addition to that, is it compatible with that provision to conclude that it does not simply establish a mere ‘presumption of fact’, or that that presumption is overturned if ‘the other party to a contract’ carries on business outside the jurisdiction of its domicile, or that the onus is on ‘the other party to a contract’ to demonstrate that its domicile, as determined in accordance with the provision cited, is the same as the place where it carries on its business?
In relation to Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008:
In the case of consumer contracts to which the Rome I Regulation is applicable, is it compatible with Article 3 of that regulation to conclude that clauses determining the applicable law, which are included in the ‘general conditions’ of the contract signed by the parties or which are included in a separate document which is expressly referred to in the contract and is shown to have been provided to the consumer, are valid and applicable?
In the case of consumer contracts to which the Rome I Regulation is applicable, is it compatible with Article 6(1) of that regulation to conclude that it can be relied on by a consumer and by the other party to a contract?
In the case of consumer contracts to which the Rome I Regulation is applicable, is it compatible with Article 6(1) of that regulation to conclude that, if the conditions laid down therein are satisfied, the law indicated in that provision will in all cases be applied in preference to that indicated in Article 6(3), even though the latter may be more favourable to the consumer in the particular case?
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1 Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2012 L 351, p. 1–32).
1 Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) (OJ 2008 L 177, p. 6–16).