The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in cassation. Among others, it accepted that according to art. 19 of Law no. 146/1914 on unfair competition, claims deriving from provisions of that law, related to omission or compensation, are time-barred after six months from the date that the applicant becomes aware of the action and the responsible person, in any case after three years from the action. Concerning claims for compensation, the time limit does not begin before the time that the damage took place. Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection does not contain any provision related to time limits of claims concerning misleading advertising and as a result, the abovementioned art. 19 is implemented in order to fill the vacuum. Besides, article 14 para. 2 of Law no. 2251/1994 provides that the provisions of that law shall be without prejudice to the provisions on unfair competition. Moreover, paragraph 5 of the same article states that if common provisions give, in a certain situation, the consumer better protection than the special regulation of this law, common provisions are applied. However, provisions pertaining to limitations and exclusive deadlines are exempted. In the case that an action breaches simultaneously the special provisions of Law 146/1914 and Arts 914 and 919 of the Civil Code on tort liability, the special provisions are implemented. Limitation of article 19 aims at a rapid dispute settlement, deriving from competition provisions. As a result, the Supreme Court judged that the claims on compensation are time-barred and thus, rejected.
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