As of: February 17, 2024, 5:00 a.m
By: Charlotte Borst
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The Munich II Regional Court was concerned with a Japanese bonsai worth 10,000 euros.
The owner of a tree nursery should reimburse a Putzbrunner the purchase price.
Putzbrunn
– Alexander Zimmermann from Putzbrunn had saved and fulfilled a “lifelong dream,” as he explained to the judge.
During a year abroad in South Korea, the desire for a garden bonsai grew, which the 53-year-old fulfilled in June 2020.
But after a few weeks it died.
The nursery boss personally placed the 1.70 meter tall specimen in a planting bed in front of Zimmermann's house on a hot day in June 2020 and showed him how to water it: "15 minutes every day," reported the commercial employee.
The lifelong dream - dead: Alexander Zimmermann saved up and paid 10,000 euros for the Japanese girl's pine.
© MM
Seller refuses request for a replacement tree
In mid-August, individual needles changed color.
It wasn't until mid-September that an employee came to cut the tree.
When it showed more and more brown spots, the seller did not comply with the request for a replacement tree.
He contacted him again and again via WhatsApp.
In March 2021, the company owner personally inspected the girl's pine tree when, according to Zimmermann, it could no longer be saved.
The seller justified the pine tree's collapse with incorrect care, pest or fungal infestation - causes for which his growth guarantee would not have applied.
Because the seller “let him starve on his outstretched arm,” he sued him for damages, Zimmermann told the Münchner Merkur.
Neighbor as a witness - he had also watered
The defendant was absent from the hearing at the Munich II Regional Court without excuse, and his lawyer did not appear either.
The judge wanted to know exactly how Zimmermann had watered: “For a quarter of an hour every day,” he stated, “as I was instructed by the company boss.” The court also questioned one of his neighbors as a witness.
He took over the casting when Zimmermann was away for three weeks from the end of July to mid-August.
The neighbor, a garden lover himself, explained, “When it didn’t rain, I watered every day.”
The pine tree was neither dried out nor drowned, explained the third witness, expert Anneliese Schlegl-Bechtold, who inspected the tree on behalf of Zimmermann in June 2021.
She noticed neither waterlogging nor a foul smell when she checked the root ball in the presence of the seller.
The soil was also “well permeable to water”.
But she noticed that all the fine roots were dead and the tree had not formed any new roots: “It was dead, the needles were all brown,” said the witness.
Expert draws clear conclusions
At the latest when the expert from Regensburg called in by the court drew his conclusion, the negotiation developed into a botanical lesson.
“The sticking point” was the transport, Alois Schambeck concluded based on the witness statements: “The tree was not adequately protected from drying out” and the root ball was apparently not moistened.
The vital fine roots died during transport.
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At the request of Zimmermann's lawyer Andreas Babor, a default judgment was issued.
The judge followed the expert.
The defendant must pay all costs, but can file an objection against the judgment within two weeks of delivery.
The case would then be heard again.
“Let’s see what comes next,” said the judge.
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Company boss does not want to comment
Babor explained to the Munich Merkur that the verdict was a success for his client.
Zimmermann left the Palace of Justice relieved, “I’ll be happy when this farce is over after more than three years.” He never wants to get a garden bonsai again.
When asked yesterday, the tree nursery boss said he was traveling and wanted to speak to his lawyer.
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