TAIWAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Peng-Kwang Chen, I-Ming Chen, Pamela Huang and Claudia Huang, Formosa Transnational Attorneys At Law
2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding There are no specific time limits or regulations in Tai- wan governing when a party to litigation should obtain third-party funding.
years. Claims for payment of interest are extinguished by prescription if not exercised within five years. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant In civil cases, the court with jurisdiction is the one located where the defendant resides. However, other courts may also have jurisdiction depending on the nature of the case. For example, in contract disputes, the court in the place of performance of the contract also has jurisdiction; in matters relating to tort claims, an action may be initiated at the court for the location where the tortious act occurred. If multiple courts have jurisdiction over a case, the plaintiff may, in principle, choose to file a lawsuit in any one of these courts. Exceptions to this rule include when the case is subject to exclusive jurisdiction, such as in real property disputes, when the court for the place where the real property is located has exclu- sive jurisdiction. 3.4 Initial Complaint The initial complaint must: • identify the parties; • specify the subject matter of the lawsuit and its cause of action; and • include a statement of the relief sought. After service of the complaint, amendments to the parties, the subject matter of the lawsuit, and the statement of claim are prohibited, except with the consent of the defendant, or under other exceptional circumstances. These circumstances include: • where the amendment or addition to the claim is based on the same facts; • when there is an expansion or reduction of the claims made regarding the relief sought. For example, a claim for USD500,000 is reduced to USD100,000; • where the change of circumstances necessitates the replacement of the original claim with another claim; and • where it would neither severely obstruct the defendant’s defence nor delay the litigation.
3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-Action Conduct
Under Taiwan law, other than requirements enacted by the legislature, the courts have no authority to impose rules on the parties in relation to pre-action conduct. For most cases, there are no statutory requirements for pre-action procedures, and the parties may initi- ate lawsuits directly. However, there are some notable exceptions, including the following. • Mandatory mediation – the parties to certain types of cases must have their dispute mediated before they can litigate it. The cases include family mat- ters, labour disputes, major commercial disputes, and medical disputes. • Written request for compensation – a plaintiff is required to make a written request for compensa- tion to the relevant authority and negotiate with that agency before litigation of claims against the state under the State Compensation Law. • Where individuals challenge administrative deci- sions made by government agencies, they must file administrative appeals/make objections to and seek review by the government agency. If the government agency denies the appeals/objection, the plaintiff can challenge the government agency’s decision in the courts. 3.2 Statutes of Limitations The statute of limitations varies greatly based on the type of claim. The regular statute of limitations for a civil claim is 15 years and runs from the date when the claimant may exercise their rights. However, there are many exceptions with shorter periods. For exam- ple, claims arising from tortious acts have a statute of limitations of two years from the date when the claimant becomes aware of the harm. The claims for construction work payment are time-barred after two
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