A judge cannot set a sale price, even if you ask them to.

A judge cannot set a sale price—even if you ask them to.

You have negotiated a price clause in your transfer agreement, but a disagreement arises when it comes time to apply it. You take the matter to court so that the judge can settle it directly.

That is the wrong approach.

In this case, two pharmacies had entered into a business transfer agreement where the price was to be calculated according to a specific contractual formula. Unable to agree on the necessary adjustments, the seller petitioned the commercial court to set the final price themselves. The court did so, and the court of appeal upheld the decision. An appeal to the Court of Cassation was inevitable. A sale price can only be determined by the parties themselves or by a third-party appraiser appointed for that purpose (Articles 1591 and 1592 of the Civil Code).

The judge does not have this power—and a request to that effect made by one of the parties does not confer it upon them.