The International Court of ARBITRATION
The dispute is between a furniture manufacturer based in Mumbai as the claimant and a furnishing store based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, as the respondent. The concerned parties were dealing for the first time, and an order was placed by the furnishing company to be supplied with dining room furniture sets, which were to be branded with their label and also customised. The total order value was Rs. 2,50,000/- of which an advance of 50% was paid. The delivery time was to be 30 days from the date of order and was based on agreed designs, which were exchanged over emails. While the delivery was made, of the outstanding amount, all but Rs. 30,000/- was held back.
While the delivery was made within the agreed time period, there seemed to be a disagreement in the specifications of one of the pieces supplied. The respondent did not make the payment, and the article in question, which was a set of dining chairs, was also not returned. While this dispute was debated by both parties, they could not make any headway as the respondent was adamant that the specifications were not met, and he was ready to return the product, but it could not be accepted back as it was branded for the respondent’s company. The dispute was handed over to PrivateCourt at this juncture for settlement.
While the Mediator tried to establish the claim, he went through all documents exchanged, and in trying to determine the contention, the Mediator stumbled upon the fact that the respondent had made an error in the marking of inches and centimetres in the final purchase order approved that led to the alteration in the size of the product. While initiating discussion with the respondent, this fact was made clear to them, and it was established that the onus of the measurements being sent accurately laid squarely on the respondent. The same was accepted, and a settlement arrived.
The Respondent agreed to pay the outstanding amount of Rs. 30,000/- on or before 15th November 2021.
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