Hidden defects: The start of the period for recourse claims is set at the time of compensation, not at the time of discovery of the defect
Published on :
17/07/2025
17
July
Jul
07
2025
Source : www.courdecassation.fr
Cour de cassation, civile, Chambre civile 3, 28 mai 2025, 23-18.781, Publié au bulletin
During renovation work, cladding panels installed on a building were found, after acceptance, to be unstable due to a defect in the treatment of the wooden rafters. The builder and its insurer brought an action against the supplier of the materials and its insurer on the basis of the warranty against hidden defects. The latter objected that the action was time barred.
The Court of Appeal upheld this objection, ruling that the two-year limitation period began to run from the date on which the defect was identified, i.e. in 2017, rendering the action brought in 2020 time barred.
The Court of Cassation overturned this decision. It pointed out that when the builder or its insurer takes action against the supplier to recover sums paid to the client, the limitation period only starts to run from the date of the summons to pay or, failing that, from the date of actual payment of the compensation. The action, brought less than two years after the compensation was paid, was therefore admissible.
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