Where does harm first arise?

The High Court recently ruled on where harm first arises in connection with product liability claims, as outlined in Article 5(3) of the EU Brussels I Regulation.^[1]

Article 5(3) states that:

“a person domiciled in a member state may be sued in another member state – in particular before the court where the harmful event occurred or may occur – in cases of tort or similar actions or if claims arising from such an action are the basis for a proceeding.”

In the appeals proceeding, the High Court asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling on the matter of jurisdiction, pursuant to Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.^[2]

In its January 16 2014 decision^[3] the ECJ stated that the Brussels I Regulation must be interpreted to mean that in cases where a producer is being sued based on liability for a faulty product, the location of the harmful event is where the product in question was produced.