The 5 news of the week – 11 March 2024

Payment deadlines
The amount of the fine imposed on a company, which may cover non-compliance with payment deadlines even in the context of intra-group transactions, must be reduced when it is found to be excessive in relation to the annual gain in working capital requirements that the delays have procured for the buyer.
TA La Guadeloupe, 21 February 2024, No. 2200281

Significant imbalance
Article 1171 of the Civil Code does not apply to contracts between two merchants, which are governed by the provisions of Article L. 442-1, I, 2° of the Commercial Code.
CA Paris, 29 February 2024, No. 21/08313

Sudden termination of established commercial relations
A press release announcing the internalization of the service forming the subject of the relationship cannot replace written notice.
CA Paris, February 28 2024, No. 21/14019

Competition compliance
The participation of an employee who is the proprietor of a legally-required delegation of powers in light of his level of duties and remuneration within the undertaking, in an anticompetitive agreement, even though he has been made aware of the importance of not committing such acts in the context of national training courses and despite the fact that this prohibition is stipulated in the undertaking’s code of ethics and internal regulations, constitutes serious misconduct justifying his immediate dismissal.
CA Nîmes, 27 February 2024, No. 22/00180

Commercial agents
The fact that the principal has breached a contractual obligation does not relieve the sales agent of his duty to comply with a valid post-contractual non-compete clause.
CA Paris, 29 February 2024, No. 21/00870