§ 54. Your duty to limit the loss
Even if the shop is at fault, you have a duty to do what you can to prevent the loss from growing unnecessarily. If you fail to do this, you must pay for the extra damage yourself.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
A party who invokes a breach of contract (kontraktsbrudd) by the other party shall limit their loss by reasonable measures. If this is neglected, he or she must bear the corresponding part of the loss themselves.
The compensation (erstatning) may be reduced if it would be unreasonable for the liable party in view of the size of the loss in relation to the loss that usually occurs in similar cases, and the circumstances otherwise.
What does this mean?
If the aquarium cracks (manufacturing fault) and the water runs out, you cannot stand and watch while the parquet floor swells for three hours. You have a duty to fetch towels and mop up.
This also applies to rental cars: If your car is at a guarantee workshop, you can rent one. But you cannot rent a Porsche Taycan for NOK 4,000 per day if you only needed a Toyota Yaris for NOK 500 per day to get to work.
Example
Kari buys a chest freezer with a manufacturing fault. The shop can replace it on Friday. Kari lets the meat (NOK 10,000) rot for three days instead of moving it to the neighbour's freezer. The shop refuses full compensation and refers to § 54: Kari was completely passive. The compensation is cut to NOK 2,000.
Common mistakes
- Ordering the most expensive emergency solution because "the shop is paying the bill anyway"
What should you do?
Ask yourself: What would I have done if this were my own money that I would never get back? That answer is usually exactly the reasonable measures the law expects.