LEGAL OPINION – Hague – Visby Rules – Time-bar

In damage of equipment, underwriters paid the insured party and sued the carrier for the damages, being subrogated to the cargo interests rights.

The carriage was on the bill of lading terms and Hague Visby Rules applied, providing, inter alia, for a one-year time bar. The lawsuit by the underwrites having been filed at a time point beyond the one-year time-bar, defendants invoked that claim was time-barred.
However, subrogation had taken place before the lapse of one-year time-bar. In such cases, time-bar is extended for six additional months. The lawsuit was filed within this additional period, as plaintiffs proved, and accordingly, the claim was not considered as time-barred.

Piraeus Court of Appeal Judgment no 335/2018, President: D. Tsoutsani, Rapporteur Judge: El. Nikolakopoulou, Attorneys at law: G. Kalogiras, L. Vasilopoulos, Maritime Law Review vol. 46, p. 33.

NOTE: Time bar is not taken into account by the Court unless it is invoked by a litigant. Likewise, an objection to a time-bar should be proposed by a litigant, otherwise, it is not considered by the Court.