AG Pitruzzella: Third party may assert invalidity of contract concluded between a trader and a consumer if its interest coincides with that of the consumer’s

Advocate General Pitruzzella delivered earlier today his Opinion in Conny (C-400/22), a case concerning a preliminary ruling request concerning consumer protection, in the context of a distant contract concluded by electronic means.

The case concerns Conny, the applicant, a limited liability company authorized to provide debt recovery services under German law. Acting under assigned rights, the applicant asserts claims of the tenant of a dwelling of the defendant landlord based on an alleged infringement of the provisions on the limitation of rent levels. One tenant, after registering on the website operated by the applicant, ticked a box agreeing to the applicant’s general terms and conditions and clicked on the ‘order button’ pr