AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Andreas Eustacchio, EUSTACCHIO
• the producer/manufacturer, own-branders, and with the new EU-Product Liability Directive also against software and AI developers; • the importer; • the authorised representative in the EU; • fulfilment service provider and online marketplaces; and • subsidiary: the distributor. 2.2 Standing to Bring Product Liability Claims Standing to bring claims for product liability is held by any natural person suffering personal injury or death and damage to property if ordinarily intended for pri - vate use or consumption and if it was mainly used for private purposes, hence privately used property. Pure business-to-business (B2B) property damage to professional assets is exempted. 2.3 Time Limits for Product Liability Claims Liability is extinguished ten years after the day on which the defective product that caused the damage was placed on the market. Within this period, the civil claim itself is subject to a limitation period of three years from the date on which the injured party became aware of the damage and of the person liable. Under Austrian general civil law, there is a general 30 year long-stop limitation period, meaning an absolute maximum time limit after which a civil claim can no longer be brought, regardless of when the claimant became aware of the damage or the liable party. In contrast, the new EU Product Liability Directive sets out an exceptional 25 year long-stop period specifi - cally for latent personal injuries, which is shorter than the general 30-year period under Austrian law. As the Directive is based on maximum harmonisation, this exceptional 25 year long-stop for latent personal injuries is intended to operate as a specific cap for harmonised product liability claims in Austria. 2.4 Jurisdictional Requirements for Product Liability Claims Basic rule: The relevant Austrian courts have jurisdic - tion where the defendant (eg, manufacturer, importer) is domiciled/has its legal seat in Austria.
Special product-liability claims: place where the dam - age occurred or where the defective product was manufactured or put into circulation. 2.5 Pre-Action Procedures and Requirements for Product Liability Claims Austrian law does not provide any formal, mandatory pre-action procedure specific to product liability cas - es. There is no legal obligation on the injured party to send a formal pre-action letter, engage in ADR (alter - native dispute resolution), or notify an authority. 2.6 Rules for Preservation of Evidence in Product Liability Claims Austrian law does not provide for a US-style “litigation hold” or spoliation regime, and neither the Product Liability Act nor the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) impose any specific pre-action obligation to preserve products or documents backed by separate sanc - tions. Manufacturers are advised to retain product-related documentation for at least ten years (see 2.3 Time Limits for Product Liability Claims ). Courts are free to evaluate the evidence, and if a party destroys or fails to preserve important evidence (such as the product, documents or test reports), the court may take this into account when assessing the overall evidentiary situation and the persuasiveness of that party’s position. Thus, both claimants and defendants are well advised to preserve the product and relevant documentation, since the loss of such evidence can adversely affect their position in court. 2.7 Rules for Disclosure of Documents in Product Liability Cases There are no special disclosure rules for product liabil - ity cases. Such claims follow the ordinary civil proce - dure rules, which do not provide US-style discovery or a general duty to disclose all relevant documents. The new EU Product Liability Directive 2024/2853 will require Austria to introduce targeted disclosure mechanisms so that claimants can obtain relevant evidence from defendants or third parties, subject to
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