Actualités

Business law – Construction – Case law

Two recent Court decisions in Business Law and Construction Law deserve to be mentioned.

LYCÉES D’ILE DE FRANCE (ILE-DE-FRANCE HIGH SCHOOLS)

For many years, legal reports have been talking about the case called « Lycées d’Ile de France« , in which the political parties had implemented, in the early 1990s, a questionable financing system.

This case resulted in many Court decisions before criminal jurisdictions as well as the French Competition Council.

More recently, the Ile-de-France region claimed, before the civil courts, the compensation of its damages estimated to more than 200 million Euros, both against construction companies having taken part in the contracts at the time and natural persons.

By a remarked decision of 17 December 2013, the Tribunal de Grande Instance (district court) of Paris found the action of the region had become time-barred, rendering all its claims impossible to review.

FENEON DELABRIERE AVOCAT represents several parties to this dispute.

CANCELLING A SALE OF PROPERTY FOR FUTURE COMPLETION (VEFA)

By a judgment of 10 December 2013 and upon request of FENEON DELABRIERE AVOCAT, the Reims Court of Appeal cancelled, several years after its signature, a sale of property for future completion made as part of a property building program for tax exemption.

The Court of Appeal pointed out the delays of the property developer in the performance of his work and his « incompetence ».

The Court thus ordered the developer to reimburse the amount of the property to the purchaser less the rents collected, which were not related to the developer’s estimates, and on the basis of which the client had signed the contract.

International law

In 2013, FENEON DELABRIERE AVOCAT tendered and was retained for the performance of two missions in International Law.

Drafting the Staff Regulations of an international reference organization based in Africa.

Carried out over several months, this mission was undertaken by Antoine DELABRIERE and Orphée HADDAD to first establish an overview of the previous legislation, its application and the « best international practices » relating thereto.

Several business trips in Africa were necessary to meet the project managers and to obtain feedback from different groups of employees and their representative institutions.

This mission’s report and the preliminary draft of the new Regulations have been filed and are currently being validated.

Feasibility study of a subcontracting law

Furthermore, FENEON DELABRIERE AVOCAT was retained to draft a Feasibility study relating to the adoption of a future OHADA Uniform Act on Subcontracting.

This Uniform Act, which principle was agreed upon by the Heads of State in Ouagadougou in October 2013, shall apply to all 17 member States.

As part of this study, the Law Firm had to draw up the inventory of local legislation on subcontracting and to study the laws that constitute relevant references at the international level.

The study was presented in the OHADA Head Office in Yaoundé by Antoine DELABRIERE in November 2013.