After the rainstorm, the factory was flooded, and the owner of the furniture factory had to cancel the lease contract of the factory.

After a torrential rain, Lao Zhang’s furniture factory was flooded. Lao Zhang believed that the heavy rain was "force majeure" and sued the landlord for requesting the termination of the lease contract, but lost the case.

Factory lease was flooded less than a year

Lao Zhang runs a furniture factory and the factory moved to a factory in Jieshi Town, Banan.

“The annual rent is 280,000 yuan, paid in two payments, and paid once every six months.” On July 25, 2011, Lao Zhang signed a three-year contract with the landlord Lao Liu, and Lao Zhang also paid a deposit of 50,000 yuan. After the factory is delivered for use, the 50,000 yuan will be converted into a deposit, and the lease will expire, and no interest will be refunded."

On May 21, 2012, after a heavy rain, Lao Zhang’s factory was flooded. The machinery, equipment, furniture, materials, etc. in the plant were soaked in water and suffered various degrees of damage.

“The flood is a force majeure request to terminate the lease contract”

Dashui retired, and Zhang remembered that when he signed the lease contract, Lao Liu once promised him that several small rivers around the factory would not be flooded due to rising water. However, Lao Zhang learned from the local villagers and village committees that the factory was flooded many times before he rented it.

“The landlord deliberately concealed the fact that the factory has been flooded many times.” After consulting with the lawyer, Lao Zhang sued the Banan court for a request for dismissal on the grounds that he could not withstand the force majeure factor of the flood that must be faced in the future. The "factory leasing contract" signed by Lao Liu requires the refund of the factory rent calculated from the date of the contract cancellation, and the refund of the deposit of 50,000 yuan.

The landlord refused to cancel the contract

On November 27, 2012, the Banan court publicly heard the case.

During the trial, the landlord Lao Liu argued that before signing the contract, Lao Zhang went to the factory to see the surrounding environment. "When it rains, the factory will be submerged. He should have a prejudgment."

Lao Liu’s defense lawyer also believes that “the contract purpose cannot be achieved due to force majeure.” This article refers to the fact that the contract cannot be continued after the force majeure occurs. However, the lease contracts of Lao Zhang and Lao Liu were not unsuccessful after the flood. "If the force majeure is not serious enough to affect the contract, it can continue to be performed, and it cannot be lifted."

The court’s first instance verdict:

Heavy rain caused the river to rise

Leading to the flooding of the factory is just a case

Whether the rainstorm caused the factory to be flooded, whether it meets the statutory lifting "the inability to achieve the contract purpose due to force majeure" is the focus of this dispute over the lease contract dispute.

"If the contract is to be terminated, either the agreement is lifted or the statutory release." The trial judge Li Ya explained that the rainstorm is indeed force majeure, but it does not necessarily lead to the contract not being able to continue. The evidence presented by Lao Zhang does not prove that his leased factory has been flooded many times. "The rainstorm in May 2012 caused the river to rise and the factory was flooded. This is just an example, and it is very abnormal."

"If the lease can be terminated if the leased item is flooded, then the renter of the Caiyuanba and Ciqikou districts, which are flooded every year, can not cancel the lease contract at any time," said Judge Li.

The Banan court made a first-instance judgment and dismissed the plaintiff’s request for the termination of the contract and the refund of the rent and security deposit.