The Rotterdam District Court ruled in January on the sale of an old Chinese bowl. Why is this ruling interesting? It is because of the purchase price of the bowl. This was, in fact, one Bitcoin.
Two parties entered into a purchase agreement with each other regarding a Chinese porcelain blue and white bowl. In the purchase agreement, the seller stated that the bowl had been valued at €150,000 by an expert in Chinese antiques.
The parties agreed on the sale price. The sale price was set at 1 Bitcoin. At the time the sale was concluded, the Bitcoin represented a value of €48,000.
Afterwards, it turned out that the authenticity of the bowl was not established. The buyer therefore invoked error and set aside the purchase agreement. This is where it gets interesting. This is because the value of the Bitcoin at the time of annulment is only half of what it was when the sale was concluded. Buyer believes that an amount of €48,000 must be repaid, while seller believes that he must return one Bitcoin because of the annulment of the purchase agreement.
The court ruled that the buyer had successfully relied on error and annulment. As a result, the parties are obliged to undo the performance they received from the other party. Thus, the Chinese bowl must go back to the seller and the payment received must go back to the buyer.
The relevant provision of the annulled purchase agreement read:
"The purchase price for the movable property amounts to 1 BTC (Bitcoin) crypto (the date 3 May 2021 is approximately €48,000) (...)".
From this, the court deduced that a purchase price of one Bitcoin had been agreed. The buyer did not submit sufficient facts and circumstances that would show that the parties had agreed on a sale price of €48,000.
Seller has to return one Bitcoin to buyer and buyer will have to return the Chinese bowl. A bitter pill for the buyer, in other words. The Bitcoin (worth €48,000) paid in 2021 is now returned to buyer while it is worth only €16,000 (price level January 2023). So before concluding a purchase agreement, always get proper advice on the content of the purchase agreement. Our specialists at Team Commercial Contracting will of course be happy to help.
View the entire ruling here.