Grenoble Court of Appeal, July 7, 2020

Montréal Convention of 1999 for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air

01 and 31

France

Grenoble Court of Appeal, Civil Division 1

Mrs. Hélène COMBES, President of the Chamber

A man died in Grenoble on April 7, 2015. On April 27, 2015 the family concluded a complex contract with a funeral company (the PFI company) to organize the transportation of the body to the Republic of Congo. The company Mathez Transports Internationaux was in charge of the air transport of the body as commission agent, on behalf of the organizer of the funeral contract. A funeral was scheduled for May 01, 2015 in the Republic of Congo, followed on May 02 by the buried of the body. The coffin was supposed to leave Lyon Saint Exupéry airport on April 30 to transit through a second airport, before reaching Brazzaville on May 01, 2015. Nevertheless, the coffin remained blocked for an additional day in the second airport, which caused prejudice to the family of the deceased, who summoned the funeral company before the Grenoble court of first instance on the basis of a breach of contract.