Work, Delivery, and Late Payment Penalties
A couple hired a company to build a single-family home based on plans they provided. Complaining of a delay in delivery of more than three months and the company’s failure to address the reservations raised upon acceptance of the work, the couple sued the company for payment of contractual penalties.
Ordered to pay €30,500, the company is mounting a defense, arguing in particular that the contractual penalties for delay take effect until the project is delivered, not until the reservations noted at acceptance are lifted.
She will ultimately prevail. Upon review of the case, the Court of Cassation ruled, pursuant to Article L 231-2 of the Construction and Housing Code, that late payment penalties cease upon delivery of the work and not upon its acceptance, or upon the resolution of any reservations noted at the time of acceptance. Indeed, in the view of the senior justices, the provisions of Article L 231-6 of the Construction and Housing Code—which extend the delivery warranty until the acceptance of the work and the resolution of reservations—do not apply to late payment penalties.
