Be careful what you sign

In 2022, a client approached our law firm after purchasing a yacht. The purchase agreement had already been signed, but the client decided to change the financing method for the project. A new player entered the transaction: the lessor. This required renegotiation of the contract terms.

The negotiations were prolonged, as the seller intended to open a branch in another European Union country. Consequently, the yacht was to be delivered in that country.

However, it soon became clear that the seller would not be able to establish the entity in the agreed country or obtain the necessary tax details in time. This necessitated yet another revision of the contract’s final wording.

The original agreement stipulated that the yacht would be received abroad. As a result, the seller offered an additional service: transporting the yacht to Poland, where it was to be used. The seller also committed to assembling the yacht, commissioning it, and covering all associated costs.

Since the seller could not complete the sale abroad, a change was necessary: the yacht was to be delivered in Poland. The additional transport service was no longer needed, as the obligation to transport the yacht shifted to the seller under the sales agreement. However, other obligations of the seller remained unchanged.

After the yacht was delivered to Poland, the seller attempted to increase the yacht’s price to cover additional costs that, according to the contract, were his responsibility. Not only did he try to pass on the costs of the delivery delay to the buyer, but he also attempted to charge for transporting the yacht to Poland and commissioning it.

Thanks to the assistance of our law firm’s lawyers, the buyer successfully:

• constructed a buyer-friendly contract that protected his rights,
• avoided being burdened with costs that the seller was contractually obligated to cover.

This case involved further complications: the seller refused to deliver all the yacht’s equipment that was supposed to be included. As a result, the client has taken the matter to court, and the case is ongoing.