Seller v. Buyer: Rescission for Breach of Exclusive Use Clause

A seller of commercial premises sued the buyer for rescission of the sale, claiming the buyer had violated a clause requiring the premises to be used exclusively for a specific type of retail business for a period of ten years, arguing that the buyer had instead used them for a different, though related, retail activity. The Court of Cassation upheld the dismissal of the seller's claim, reasoning that the actual use, while differing slightly from the precisely stipulated purpose, still fell within the general commercial category envisioned by the parties at the time of the sale, and thus did not constitute a sufficiently serious breach of the contractual obligation to warrant judicial rescission.