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Cuadrench Moré v KLM (C-139/11)

A plain-English summary of the Court of Justice of the EU judgment of 22 November 2012: the facts, the question, what was decided and what it means for your claim.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 4 min How we write our guides

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In short: There is no EU-wide deadline for compensation claims: the time limit is set by each country’s own rules on limitation of actions.

CaseJoan Cuadrench Moré v Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV (KLM)
CitationC-139/11
CourtCourt of Justice of the EU (Third Chamber)
Date
Full textEUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union)

The facts

Mr Cuadrench Moré had a seat with KLM from Shanghai to Barcelona on 20 December 2005. The flight was cancelled and he travelled the next day with another airline via Munich.

On 27 February 2009 – more than three years later – he sued KLM in Barcelona for €2,990 plus interest and costs. KLM argued the claim was time-barred under the two-year period in Article 29 of the Warsaw Convention. The Barcelona commercial court disagreed and on 26 May 2009 ordered KLM to pay €600 with interest. On appeal, the Spanish court referred the question of which time limit applies.

The question

What time limit applies to claims for compensation under Articles 5 and 7 of Regulation 261/2004?

What the Court ruled

The time limits for bringing actions for compensation under Articles 5 and 7 of the regulation are determined in accordance with the rules of each Member State on the limitation of actions.

Paraphrased from the operative part of the judgment. The exact wording is in the full text.

What it means for you

How long you have to claim depends on the country whose courts hear the case. The two-year limit in the Montreal Convention does not apply to fixed compensation.

In the UK the limit is 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 5 years in Scotland. The English Court of Appeal applied this approach in Dawson v Thomson Airways (2014).

Read more: Time limits for claims · Cancelled flight compensation.

Status in the UK

Decided before the end of the Brexit transition period (11 pm on 31 December 2020), so it is assimilated EU case law in the UK. County courts and sheriff courts must follow it when they apply UK261; the UK Supreme Court and the appeal courts listed in the 2020 regulations (including the Court of Appeal in England and Wales) may depart from it.

How EU rulings apply after Brexit is explained on our case-law overview.

This is a plain-English summary written by our editorial team, not legal advice. Judgments turn on their facts, and later rulings can refine them. Before relying on a case in a dispute, read the full judgment or get advice.

  • Lipton v BA Cityflyer ([2024] UKSC 24, 2024) – Pilot illness is not extraordinary (UK Supreme Court)
  • TAP v flightright (C-156/22 to C-158/22, 2023) – Sudden crew illness or death is not extraordinary
  • Airhelp v SAS (C-28/20, 2021) – Airline’s own staff strike is not extraordinary
  • Krüsemann v TUIfly (C-195/17 etc., 2018) – Mass crew sick-out (“wildcat strike”) is not extraordinary
  • Dawson v Thomson Airways ([2014] EWCA Civ 845, 2014) – 6-year limit in England and Wales, not 2 years
  • McDonagh v Ryanair (C-12/11, 2013) – Care is owed even in extraordinary circumstances

All cases in the library

Sources

  1. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 22 November 2012, Case C-139/11, Cuadrench Moré v KLM – EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union)

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