Reference Decision: cc • No. 19-16.986 • 2020-10-01 • View decision →
This decision sheds important light on your property law. Here is what it changes for you.
The Situation
Article 2232, paragraph 1, of the Civil Code, introduced by the Law of 17 June 2008 reforming limitation periods in civil matters, provides that the postponement of the starting point, the suspension or the interruption of the limitation period cannot have the effect of extending the limitation period beyond twenty years from the day the right arose; read together with Article 2224 of the same Code, according to which personal or movable actions are time-barred after five years from the day the holder of a right knew or ought to have known the facts enabling him to exercise it, it follows that the legislature, for the sake of legal certainty, in return for a "rolling" starting point for the exercise of the action, has confined the exercise of the right within a fixed period of twenty years. Having found that the starting point of the action for hidden defects brought by the last purchaser of a property against the original seller had been postponed to the day on which the latter became fully aware of the defect, a Court of Appeal correctly held that the day the right arose, within the meaning of Article 2232 of the Civil Code, should be fixed as the day of the contract, which established the seller's obligation of warranty against hidden defects.
What the Law Says
This decision confirms the fundamental principles of property law.
Key Points
- Strictly observe the statutory time limits for recourse
- Keep all your supporting documents (titles, deeds, correspondence)
- Anticipate: preventive advice always costs less than litigation
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