Qfour and a half years after the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic, civil courts are still purging disputes between consumers who, for fear of the virus, canceled their vacations, and travel agencies, who considered their departure possible .
Magistrates must ask themselves whether, on the date of the trip, “exceptional and unavoidable circumstances occurring at the place of destination or in the immediate vicinity thereof, [auraient] significant consequences on the execution of the contract »as provided for in article L211-14 of the tourism code.
Pour “appreciate probability” death ” consequences “they must “put yourself in the perspective of an average, normally informed traveler”but do not take into account what happened after the termination, as recommended by the Court of Justice of the European Union on February 29 (C-584/22).
Did the magistrates of the Court of Appeal of Saint-Denis de la Réunion do this when, on August 23, they rejected the request for reimbursement from the Saint-Michel Catholic college? The management of the latter has questions and hesitates to file an appeal in cassation.
Chronicle | Article reserved for our subscribers Trip cancellation: with or without fees?
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On June 18, 2019, the college concluded a package travel contract with SARL Voyages Villages Vacances, so that thirty-six college students aged 5e and 4e and four accompanying persons stay in mainland France, from March 4 to 15, 2020. The contract includes transport, accommodation, catering, as well as visits to Paris and ski lessons in the Alps.
Absence de « cluster »
A few days before departure, the director and the parents concerned are worried about the situation in France. On March 2, 2020, the director was informed by the rectorate that “travel abroad and to France in clusters is suspended until further notice”.
On March 3, 2020, he canceled the trip and requested reimbursement (nearly 72,000 euros). The agency refuses him, this one “being neither abroad nor in one of the clusters identified by the government” (Oise and Haute-Savoie), since the destination places are Paris and Val-Cenis (Savoie).
The college assigns the agency. His lawyer, Me Annie Khayat-Tissier, argues that, since February 29, 2020, the metropolis had moved to stage 2 of the prevention plan (while Reunion was at stage 1), which characterized a “exceptional circumstance”within the meaning of the European directive on package travel (article 12 and recital 31), likely to have significant consequences on the execution of the package, since “not allowing safe travel”.
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