Product Liability 2009 - Arnold & Porter LLP

Russia
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Orrick (CIS) LLC Russia
injury irrespective of the time when the injury occurred.
3. If an injury results from defects in goods, the stated life term
for which was not determined, then compensation is payable
in the full amount if the injury was incurred within 10 years
from the transfer of goods to the consumer. If the transfer
date is unknown, than the relevant term is 10 years from the
manufacture of the goods.
The age and condition of the claimant do not affect the calculation
of time limits. The court does not have the right to suspend time
limits.
5.3 To what extent, if at all, do issues of concealment or fraud
affect the running of any time limit?
Concealment or fraud does not affect the running of time limits.
The running begins from the moment the injured party knew or
should have known on violation of its consumer protection rights.
6 Remedies
6.1 What remedies are available e.g. monetary compensation,
injunctive/declaratory relief?
Monetary compensation, compensation of moral harm and
injunctive relief are available remedies in consumer protection
cases.
6.2 What types of damage are recoverable e.g. damage to the
product itself, bodily injury, mental damage, damage to
property?
Damage to consumer’s life, health, property and moral damage are
recoverable under the Consumer Protection Law.
6.3 Can damages be recovered in respect of the cost of
medical monitoring (e.g. covering the cost of investigations
or tests) in circumstances where the product has not yet
malfunctioned and caused injury, but it may do so in
future?
The Consumer Protection Law does not apply to possible future
malfunctions and potential injury.
6.4 Are punitive damages recoverable? If so, are there any
restrictions?
The concept of punitive damages does not exist in Russian law, and
damages are limited to the loss actually incurred and lost profit.
6.5 Is there a maximum limit on the damages recoverable
from one manufacturer e.g. for a series of claims arising
from one incident or accident?
We are not aware of any such limits.
6.6 Do special rules apply to the settlement of
claims/proceedings e.g. is court approval required for the
settlement of group/class actions, or claims by infants, or
otherwise?
There are no special rules for the settlement of claims. The
settlement agreement should be registered by the court.
6.7 Can Government authorities concerned with health and
social security matters claim from any damages awarded
or settlements paid to the Claimant without admission of
liability reimbursement of treatment costs, unemployment
benefits or other costs paid by the authorities to the
Claimant in respect of the injury allegedly caused by the
product. If so, who has responsibility for the repayment of
such sums?
The Federal Service for the Protection of Consumer Rights and
Human Welfare and the Russian Federal Fund for Social Insurance
are the government authorities concerned with health and social
security matters. These authorities do not have powers to claim
reimbursement of benefits paid by the state to the claimant from
compensation payments made by the defendant.
7 Costs / Funding
7.1 Can the successful party recover: (a) court fees or other
incidental expenses; (b) their own legal costs of bringing
the proceedings, from the losing party?
According to Article 90 of the Civil Procedure Code and Article 110
of the Arbitrazh Procedural Code, the costs of the winning party are
payable by the losing party. Expenses associated with the dispute,
i.e. experts and interpreters which are incurred by the party
requesting such services may be compensated by the losing party.
However, if a claim is satisfied only partially, the expenses will be
paid pro rata to the portion of the claim satisfied.
7.2 Is public funding e.g. legal aid, available?
Legal aid is not widely available in Russia.
7.3 If so, are there any restrictions on the availability of public
funding?
Only certain categories of Russian citizens whose average per
capita income is lower than the minimum for subsistence may be
provided with free legal assistance.
7.4 Is funding allowed through conditional or contingency fees
and, if so, on what conditions?
Russian law does not precisely prohibit contingency fees, but
contingency fee arrangements have been held to be unenforceable
by the Supreme Arbitrazh Court.
7.5 Is third party funding of claims permitted and, if so, on
what basis may funding be provided?
A representative acting per proxy from a claimant has the right to
pay a state duty for bringing a claim.
8 Updates
8.1 Please provide, in no more than 300 words, a summary of
any new cases, trends and developments in Product
Liability Law in Russia.
The Russian product liability law was substantially amended in
2008. The following essential amendments came into effect:
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