Plaintiff had booked a Danube cruise arrangement with defendant for himself and his wife. As defendant cancelled the cruise, plaintiff claimed for compensation for loss of holiday enjoyment. Defendant payed a compensation half of the packacke price for one person to plaintiff but refused to pay any compensation in regard to plaintiff’s wife, arguing plaintiff had had no authorisation by his wife when asserting the claim. A later assignation of the claim had missed the one month deadline. Plaintiff therefore filed a law suit.Both, court of first instance (AG Frankfurt am Main) and appelate court (LG Frankfurt am Main) granted the claim: even though until to the assignation only plaintiff’s wife herself had been entitled to the claim, the assignation constituted a retroactive authorization of the plaintiff.In judgement Xa ZR 124/09 of May 26, 2010, German Supreme Court upheld these decisions. Though the court tended to the view that plaintiff as contract partner of defendant was entitled to file an individual suit this issue didn’t have to be definitely clarified as the assignation had constituted a retroactive authorization, anyway.Source: BGH press release 109/2010 of May 26, 2010
