UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Antrobus KC, Mike Atkins, Elizabeth Boon, Richard Sage, David Myhill and Alex Antelme KC, Crown Office Chambers
2.2 Standing to Bring Product Liability Claims Claims Under the CPA Claims under the CPA may be brought by “con- sumers” . A consumer is a natural person who purchases or uses the product in question for private use. Persons who purchase or use prod - ucts for the purpose of resale or for commercial use are not covered. The consumer must have suffered damage of a kind covered by Part 1 of the CPA. Claims in Negligence Claims in negligence can be brought by all those who can reasonably be expected to make use of a product – ie, anybody who may reasonably be affected by a defect in the product. This means that a claim in negligence is not limited by the doctrine of privity of contract, and a claim may be brought by a consumer-purchaser of the product, a person who uses the product, or a third-party bystander who is injured by the prod - uct. Claims in Contract Generally, a claim for breach of contract is lim - ited to parties who were part of the original con - tract of sale or supply (the doctrine of privity of contract), but in certain circumstances a third party may seek an enforcement under the Con - tract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999; claimants might include those who have validly taken an assignment of the contractual cause of action. 2.3 Time Limits for Product Liability Claims Time limits for bringing product liability claims in negligence and contract are governed by the Limitation Act 1980. A claim for personal injury must be brought within three years from the later of the date the
injury or loss is suffered or the date of knowledge of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer. The “date of knowledge” relates to what the claimant knew, or reasonably ought to have known. The three-year period can be extended at the court’s discretion. For non-personal injury claims, the claim must be brought within six years from the date on which the damage or loss occurred (negligence), or six years from the date of the breach (con - tract), or three years from the date of knowledge for claims concerning latent damage – ie, a hid - den defect. A claim under the CPA must also be brought within ten years from the date on which the product was put into circulation, known as the ten-year long-stop period. Absent the issuing of court proceedings, a right of action under the CPA is extinguished after this period and cannot be extended. In Wilson v Beko Plc [2019] EWHC 3362 (QB), Knowles J ruled that consumers are not entitled to rely upon Section 41 of the CPA to circumvent the ten-year limitation long-stop. 2.4 Jurisdictional Requirements for Product Liability Claims Generally, UK courts will assume jurisdiction to try a case where the injury, loss or damage occurs, or where both parties are domiciled in that country. This is straightforward where both the claimant and the defendant are domiciled in England. Complications might arise where the intended defendant is domiciled out of the juris - diction. In order for a claimant to establish that English courts have jurisdiction in respect of product liability claims, the court will consider whether
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