The request was made in proceedings between Mr Kainz, resident in Salzburg (Austria), and Pantherwerke AG, the registered office of which was in Germany, concerning a claim for damages on the basis of liability for a defective product brought by Mr Kainz following an accident which he suffered, in Germany, while riding a bicycle manufactured in Germany but purchased from a retailer in Austria.
The referring court asked the Court of Justice of the European Union the question: where a manufacturer faced a claim of liability for a defective product, how was article 5(3) of Council Regulation No 44/2001/ EC to be interpreted for the purpose of identifying the place of the event giving rise to the damage.
The court held that under article 5(3) of Council Regulation No 44/2001/EC, in the case where a manufacturer faced a claim of liability for a defective product, the place of the event giving rise to the damage was the place where the product in question was manufactured.