Court of Appeal, Fort-de-France, Civil Division, n°15/00477

Montréal Convention of 1999 for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air

France

Court of Appeal, Fort-de-France, Civil Division

Mr. Jean-Christophe BRUYERE (president)

On August 16, 2005 an aircraft flying from Panama to Martinique crashed in Venezuela, resulting in the death of 176 passengers. The aircraft was operated by the company West Caribbean Airways, itself insured by the company Asegurador Colseguros. In the accident died spouses, and their children want to repair their damages. They have proceeded to bring a lawsuit against both companies in front of the French courts. The spouses were themselves covered under a contract relating to life accidents by the company Pacifia, which substituted the rights holders in their claim after having paid them. The company Pacifia criticized the previous judgment for having established the time-limit claim and for having dismissed its requests for the payment of 152,000 euros by West Caribbean Airways and its insurance company.

That in this case if, contrary to the airline company’s claim, the spouses Z… declared to their representatives when they arrived in Tunis the damage caused to their luggage, it was without precision of the missing belongings and the district court rightly considered that the respondents did not provide proof that their belongings had been stolen during the transport of their luggage, the computer and photographic equipment for which they are requesting reimbursement. The only production of the receipts of the purchase being insufficient to establish this fact;
That however, the degradation of their suitcases is not disputed, pictures being also added to the debates, that they must thus be allocated the sum of 500 euros corresponding to the price of two new suitcases, without the price being reduced for obsolescence, since spouses Z… will be required to buy two new suitcases to replace the ones damaged