Facts
The plaintiff, Guinand, had a set of bowling pins installed in his café by the defendant, Cellier, in 1962. The lane deteriorated rapidly and Guinand reported the defects to Cellier, who carried out an insufficient repair. The game became unusable at the end of January or the beginning of February 1963.
On June 26, 1963, Cellier brought an action for payment of the price before the Neuchâtel Cantonal Court. On July 13, Guinand served a payment order for an amount of 10,000 fr., indicating, as the reason for the claim: "damages and interest for defective work in the installation of the bowling game of Mr. André Guinand".
The Neuchâtel Cantonal Court condemned Guinand to pay the balance of the agreed price with Cellier, minus a reduction of 5,600 fr. representing the costs of restoring the defective thing. It also condemned Cellier to pay Guinand an indemnity of 2,500 fr. for the loss of earnings caused by the poor condition of the game until the end of August 1963.
Guinand paid the amount of the judgment after Cellier initiated a lawsuit against him. On March 7, 1968, Guinand sued Cellier before the Civil Court of the Cantonal Court of the canton of Vaud for payment of 15,225 fr., plus legal accessories, representing the loss of earnings caused by the defectiveness of the game from September 1963.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether Guinand's claim was time-barred. It considered that the action for warranty for defects in the delivered thing is subject to a one-year limitation period, whether the delivery was made under a contract for work (art. 371 para. 1 CO) or a sales contract (art. 210 para. 1 CO).
The Federal Court also considered that the limitation period had started to run as soon as Guinand had taken possession of the bowling game, i.e. in August 1962. However, the period had been interrupted first by the payment order of July 3, 1963, and then a second time on September 13, 1963, when Guinand had…