Product Liability 2009 - Arnold & Porter LLP

Spain
296
Lovells LLP Spain
be filed on classic grounds of contract or tort liability provided the
time limitation for such actions has not expired.
Actions brought under contractual liability are barred after fifteen
years (Article 1964 of the Spanish Civil Code).
Actions in tort liability are barred after a one-year period which
runs from the moment when the victim had knowledge of the injury
(Article 1968 of the Spanish Civil Code).
The age or condition of a party, do no affect the calculation of any
time limit.
5.3 To what extent, if at all, do issues of concealment or fraud
affect the running of any time limit?
Concealment and fraud may affect the running of time limits if they
hinder the claimant from knowing who the party responsible for the
damage is.
6 Remedies
6.1 What remedies are available e.g. monetary compensation,
injunctive/declaratory relief?
Monetary compensation as well as injunctions to do, injunctions to
cease to do and injunctions to pay are available remedies. Bearing
in mind the nature of the actions that might be brought in product
liability cases, monetary compensation will be the most commonly
used remedy.
6.2 What types of damage are recoverable e.g. damage to the
product itself, bodily injury, mental damage, damage to
property?
Under the strict product liability system, pursuant to Article 129 of
the Consumer’s Act, the recoverable damages are the damages
caused by the defective product to the victim itself (i.e., death or
personal injury) and to goods (other than the defective product
itself) provided that the said goods are aimed for private use and the
victim has used them principally for that purpose.
Damages to the product itself are not covered under the strict
product liability regime (Article 142 of the Consumer’s Act).
In line with the 1985 EC Directive as regards the ceiling on the
producer’s liability for death or bodily damage caused by identical
products with the same defect, the maximum amount of liability
arises to 63,106,270.96 Euros (Article 141 Consumer’s Act).
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?
Only the loss directly caused by the product and which the injured
party has actually suffered in the past or which the victim is certain
to suffer in the future may give rise to liability for damages.
Therefore, the possible future damage may not be compensated.
As for medical monitoring expenses incurred in order to control the
evolution of the risks of illness or injury associated with the
defective product, or as regards the costs of a surgical operation
preventing the risk created by the defective product, they are
generally not recoverable.
6.4 Are punitive damages recoverable? If so, are there any
restrictions?
In the Spanish system of civil liability, the damages granted to the
injured party are supposed to compensate the injury, not to punish
the liable party. Their amount must correspond to the exact extent
of injury. Therefore, there are no punitive damages under Spanish
civil law.
In a contract, the parties may stipulate a liquidated damages clause
which may provide for an amount of damages which exceeds or
limits the amount of damages resulting from the sole breach of a
contractual duty. The judge has a discretionary power to reduce or
increase the amount fixed by such clauses, if the main obligation
has been partially or irregularly fulfilled by the debtor (Article 1154
of the Spanish Civil Code).
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?
The only limit applies to the producer’s liability for death or bodily
damage caused by identical products with the same defect. The
maximum amount of liability in those cases arises to 63,106,270.96
Euros (Article 141 Consumer’s Act).
There are no maximum limits for the total amount that a liable party
may be required to pay to injured parties regarding damages to
property caused by the defective product.
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?
Court approval is not required for the settlement to be applied by
the parties, which will be governed by general contract law.
Nevertheless, once the judicial proceedings have been initiated the
parties may request the court to ratify their settlement agreement. If
the settlement is ratified by the court, in the event it is not fulfilled,
the parties may request its judicial enforcement.
There are no special rules for the settlement of groups/class actions.
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?
Government authorities concerned with health and social security
matters are entitled to claim against the party responsible for the
damage the reimbursement of treatment costs, unemployment
benefits or other costs paid in respect of the injury allegedly caused
by the product.
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?
One must here distinguish between the court fees, the other
WWW.ICLG.CO.UK
ICLG TO: PRODUCT LIABILITY 2009
© Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London