We Reduced a €103,000 Transport Claim to €9,100 by Successfully Enforcing CMR Liability Limits
The Situation
A European road carrier was sued in Spain following the theft of high-value electronic goods during an international CMR transport. The claimant sought full compensation of €103,904.90, alleging gross negligence and arguing that liability limits under the CMR Convention should not apply.
The Challenge
The first-instance court fully upheld the claim, finding alleged negligence and ordering payment of the entire claimed amount plus interest and legal costs. The client faced: Exposure far exceeding standard CMR limits Allegations of gross negligence despite evidence of adequate security measures Cross-border litigation involving complex factual and legal issues under the CMR Convention A successful appeal required overturning the negligence finding and persuading the court to apply the statutory limitation of liability.
The Solution
We designed and executed a strategy-driven appellate defense, focused on reframing the case around objective evidence and CMR principles: Reconstructed the transport operation and theft chronology in detail Demonstrated that the theft occurred in a paid, guarded parking facility Proved that route deviations and timing issues had no causal link to the loss Challenged the first-instance court’s assessment of evidence and legal reasoning Anchored the appeal firmly in Articles 17 and 23 of the CMR Convention, excluding intent or gross negligence Our approach emphasized risk allocation under international transport law, not hindsight fault-finding.
The Result
The Provincial Court of Barcelona upheld the appeal and overturned the original ruling: The finding of intent / gross negligence was rejected CMR liability limits were applied Compensation was reduced from €103,904.90 to approx. €9,126 All first-instance legal costs and interest were annulled No costs were imposed in the appeal The client achieved a reduction of over 90% of the claimed exposure.
