The Court of Appeal decided in the case of James Dawson v Thomson Airways Limited that the limitation period for a claim for compensation for delay brought under EC Regulation 261/2004 is 6 years as specified under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980 and not 2 years as specified under the Montreal Convention. Akhil Shah QC acted for the successful Claimant / Respondent. This important judgment, which has clarified the applicable limitation period, applied previous decisions of the European Court of Justice to the effect that claims for compensation under EC Regulation 261 operated at an earlier stage than the Montreal Convention and therefore were not subject to conditions of the Montreal Convention such as the latter’s limitation period of 2 years. The leading judgment which was given by Moore-Bick LJ, and with whom Kitchin LJ and Fulford LJ agreed is available here.
