Jump to main content

Esperanto missing: The opposition against a European order for payment must be filed in the language of the forum

Foreign court decisions

Esperanto missing: The opposition against a European order for payment must be filed in the language of the forum

A crafty Italian consumer who believed he had a residual claim against a German insurance company that had denied him full compensation for fire damage to his property applied for and obtained a European order for payment (EC Regulation No. 1896/2006) from an Italian court. The lawyer of the German insurer filed an objection in due time with the prescribed form "F", filled in and signed. The Italian court ignored the objection as it was not filed in Italian and declared the order for payment enforceable. The insurer unsuccessfully appealed, but also at second instance the Perugia Court of Appeal confirmed that the insurer had lost, in judgment no. 389/2020. These European procedural instruments can sometimes be dangerous to handle, even for insurance companies.