Tornado Wire Limited v John Good Logistics Limited
[2024] EWHC 212 (KB)
Huawei Technologies (UK) Limited & Anor v DSV Solutions Limited
23 June 2023
[2023] EWHC 1505 (Comm)
High Court
Huawei's phones were lost during transport. A Dutch court said it was too late to sue because they waited too long. An English court agreed, and won't let them sue again, even though they tried to sue for different reasons.
Key Facts
- •Huawei contracted DSV to transport mobile phones from England to the Netherlands.
- •The contract was subject to the CMR Convention (implemented in the UK by the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965).
- •Approximately 300 phones (£150,000) went missing during transit.
- •Claimants (Huawei and China Pacific) initiated proceedings in England 18 months after the incident.
- •DSV initiated proceedings in the Netherlands seeking a declaration of non-liability.
- •The Netherlands court ruled that the claim was time-barred under the CMR Convention's one-year limitation period.
Legal Principles
CMR Convention Article 31 determines the competent courts for proceedings.
Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965, CMR Convention Article 31
CMR Convention Article 31.2 prevents new actions if a competent court has already ruled on the same grounds.
CMR Convention Article 31.2
Interpretation of the CMR Convention should be broad and unconstrained by technical rules of English law.
Merzario [2001] Lloyd's Rep 490 (Rix LJ)
A decision on limitation is a 'judgment...that is enforceable' under Article 31.2.
Merzario [2001] Lloyd's Rep 490
Actions are on the 'same grounds' if they have the same facts and rule of law as their basis.
Merzario [2001] Lloyd's Rep 490
CMR Convention does not exhaustively cover all rights and obligations arising from goods carriage; however, claims for loss or damage to goods are limited by the Convention.
Shell Chemicals UK Ltd v P & O Roadtanks [1993] 1 Lloyd's Rep 114
CMR Convention Article 28 allows carriers to use Convention provisions to exclude liability or limit compensation, even for extra-contractual claims.
CMR Convention Article 28
Limitation Act 1980 does not override the shorter limitation period in the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965 for CMR Convention claims.
Limitation Act 1980, Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965
Summary judgment is granted if the claimant has no real prospect of succeeding.
CPR 24.2
Outcomes
Summary judgment granted for the Defendant.
The Netherlands court's decision, which found the claim time-barred, precludes further action in England under the CMR Convention, both in contract and tort.
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