Another CISG Case in the U.S. Courts: Pitfalls for the Practitioner and the Potential for Regionalized Interpretations
![handle is hein.journals/jlac15 and id is 133 raw text is: ANOTHER CISG CASE IN THE U.S. COURTS: PITFALLS
FOR THE PRACTITIONER AND THE POTENTIAL FOR
REGIONALIZED INTERPRETATIONS
Harry M. Flechtner*
A recent Oregon decision that cites the United Nations Conven-
tion on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG or the
Convention)' does so in as passing a fashion as possible: the Conven-
tion is mentioned only in the last footnote to the dissenting opinion. For
those interested in the jurisprudence emerging from the growing body
of case law on CISG, nevertheless, the case has considerable signifi-
cance -significance ranging from the intensely practical and obvious to
the more subtle, theoretical and speculative. The decision triggers inter-
esting conjecture on the global dynamics of CISG interpretation, and it
offers a vivid illustration of how critical it is for commercial lawyers to
be familiar with the Convention.
A. GPL Treatment: Facts and Reasoning
The case, GPL Treatment, Ltd. v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp.,2 in-
volved alleged sales of cedar shakes by a Canadian family wood prod-
ucts business to a U.S. corporate buyer. The seller (GPL) introduced
testimony that a trader in the Portland, Oregon area offices of Louisi-
ana-Pacific Corporation (L-P) agreed by telephone in May 1992-dur-
ing a period of rising prices-to purchase a large quantity of shakes
from GPL. GPL asserted that later, when market prices began to fall,
the parties orally renegotiated certain terms. GPL allegedly confirmed
both the original sale and the renegotiated agreement by mailing to L-
* Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Law. A.B. 1973, Harvard College; A.M. 1975,
Harvard University; J.D. 1981, Harvard University School of Law. I wish to thank my colleague,
Professor Ronald Brand of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, not only for his insightful
suggestions on this particular essay, but more generally for making it possible and enjoyable for me
to work in the area of international sales law. I also thank Pittsburgh Law student Jennifer Hanley
for her intelligent and energetic assistance.
1. U.N. Conference on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, Final Act (Apr. 10,
1980), U.N. DOC. A/CONF. 97/18, reprinted in S. Treaty Doc. No. 98-9, 98th Cong., 1st Sess.
and 19 I.L.M. 668 (1980) [hereinafter CISG or Convention].
2. 894 P.2d 470 (Or. Ct. App. 1995), rev. granted, 898 P.2d 770 (Or. 1995).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jlac15&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Another CISG Case in the U.S. Courts: Pitfalls for the Practitioner and the Potential for Regionalized Interpretations
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