O’Byrne v Aventis Pasteur MSD Ltd

Subject Matter

PRACTICE — Parties — Substitution — Action brought against wrongly identified manufacturer — Whether power to allow substitution of defendant after expiry of long-stop ten-year period — Whether power existing where party wrongly identified — Whether substitution “necessary” — Whether substitution to be allowed — Limitation Act 1980, ss 11A(3) (as inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987, s 6(6), Sch 1, para 1), 35(4)(5)(6) — CPR r 19.5(2)(3) — Council Directive 85/374/EEC, art 11

[2007] 1 WLR 757; [2008] 1 WLR 1188; [2008] Bus LR 993; [2008] 4 All ER 881

PRACTICE — Parties — Substitution — Statutory right to sue producer of defective product — Right enacted in implementation of European Directive providing for long-stop period of ten years after product put into circulation — Claim alleging defective vaccine manufactured by French company but distributed by wholly-owned United Kingdom subsidiary — Action brought within period against distributor — Application after expiry of period for substitution of manufacturer as defendant — Court of Justice ruling that substitution of party outside limitation period permissible only when act of “putting into circulation of the product” determined by parent of wholly-owned supplier subsidiary sued within time limit — Whether determination in question act of transferring product to subsidiary or when to be put into circulation by supplier — Whether substitution to be allowed — Limitation Act 1980, s 35(4)(5)(6) — CPR r 19.5(2)(3) — Council Directive 85/374/EEC, art 11

[2010] 1 WLR 1412; [2010] Bus LR 1381

Appellate History

Commentary

Blackstones Civil Practice 2023
Cases outside the Limitation Act 1980 10.65

Addition and Substitution of Parties - Addition or substitution of a party after the expiry of the limitation period 14.88