Joined Cases C-810/21 to C-813/21, Caixabank (Limitation period for the repayment of mortgage charges): Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 25 January 2024 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona — Spain) — Caixabank SA, formerly Bankia SA (C-810/21), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (C-811/21), Banco Santander SA (C-812/21), OK, PI (C- 813/21) v WE, XA (C-810/21), TB, UK (C-811/21), OG (C-812/21), Banco Sabadell SA (C-813/21) (References for a preliminary ruling — Consumer protection — Directive 93/13/EEC — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Charges arising from the formalisation of the mortgage loan agreement — Restitution of the sums paid under a term declared to be unfair — Starting point of the limitation period for an action for restitution)
Date: 2024-01-25
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: consumer credit, consumer information, cost of borrowing, limitation of legal proceedings, real estate credit, unfair terms of contract








C_202401819EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1819


11.3.2024





Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 25 January 2024 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona — Spain) — Caixabank SA, formerly Bankia SA (C-810/21), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (C-811/21), Banco Santander SA (C-812/21), OK, PI (C- 813/21) v WE, XA (C-810/21), TB, UK (C-811/21), OG (C-812/21), Banco Sabadell SA (C-813/21)
(Joined Cases C-810/21 to C-813/21, (1) Caixabank (Limitation period for the repayment of mortgage charges))
(References for a preliminary ruling - Consumer protection - Directive 93/13/EEC - Unfair terms in consumer contracts - Charges arising from the formalisation of the mortgage loan agreement - Restitution of the sums paid under a term declared to be unfair - Starting point of the limitation period for an action for restitution)
(C/2024/1819)
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Caixabank SA, formerly Bankia SA(C-810/21), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (C-811/21), Banco Santander SA (C-812/21), OK, PI (C-813/21)

Defendants: WE, XA (C-810/21), TB, UK (C-811/21), OG (C-812/21), Banco Sabadell SA (C-813/21)

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, read in the light of the principle of effectiveness,
must be interpreted as precluding a judicial interpretation of national law according to which, following the annulment of an unfair contractual term making the consumer bear the charges for concluding a mortgage loan agreement, an action for restitution of those charges is subject to a limitation period of 10 years which starts to run from the moment that term exhausts its effects when the last payment of those charges is made, without it being considered relevant in that regard that that consumer is aware of the legal assessment of those facts. The compatibility of the detailed rules for the application of a limitation period with those provisions must be assessed in the light of those rules as a whole.










2.


Directive 93/13
must be interpreted as precluding a judicial interpretation of national law according to which, in order to determine the starting point of the limitation period for the consumer’s action for restitution of sums unduly paid under an unfair contractual term, the existence of well established national case-law relating to the invalidity of similar terms may be regarded as establishing that the condition relating to the consumer concerned being aware of the unfair nature of that term and of the legal consequences thereof is satisfied.






(1)  
            OJ C 213, 30.5.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/1819/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)