Judgment No. 10402 of 2024: The Legal Requalification of the Claim and the Road Accident

The recent ruling No. 10402 of April 17, 2024, by the Court of Cassation provides important clarifications on the legal requalification of the claim in the context of a road accident. The decision focuses on the necessity that the cause of action remains identical for the judge to qualify the claim differently, highlighting the limits of such power.

The Context of the Judgment

The case in question involved the claim of the heirs of a third party who died in a road accident. The heirs had made a request for compensation under Article 141 of the Insurance Code, but the court of merit attempted to requalify the claim based on Article 2054 of the Civil Code. The Court of Cassation excluded this possibility, emphasizing that to accept the initial claim, it was sufficient to demonstrate the mere legal fact of transportation and the causal link with the damage suffered.

The Maxims of the Judgment

Legal requalification of the claim - Limits - Identity of the cause of action - Necessity - Conditions - Facts already stated in the first instance in a descriptive function with different significance - Sufficiency - Exclusion - Identity of the historical fact - Sufficiency - Exclusion - Hypothesis. The judge has the power to qualify the claim differently from what the parties proposed, provided that the "cause of action" remains identical, which must be excluded when the constitutive facts of the asserted right, understood as the basis of the credit claim and not as historical facts, change or, if already stated in the introductory act of the proceedings in a descriptive function, are deduced with a different significance. (In this case, the Court excluded that the judge of merit could requalify the claim made by the heirs of the deceased third party in a road accident, formulated under Article 141 of the Insurance Code, into the action pursuant to Article 2054 of the Civil Code, as it was sufficient, for the acceptance of the former, the mere legal fact of transportation on a vehicle involved in an accident, along with the causal link with the damage suffered, while the action under Article 2054 of the Civil Code also required the collision between vehicles, subject to a completely different evidentiary regime).

Practical Implications of the Judgment

This judgment has several practical implications, including:

  • Clear definition of the limits of legal requalification.
  • Greater protection for the heirs of victims of road accidents.
  • The necessity of a rigorous analysis of the constitutive facts and their identity.
  • The importance of correctly presenting the cause of action from the outset of the proceedings.

In conclusion, judgment No. 10402 of 2024 represents an important step forward in clarifying the methods of legal requalification of the claim, highlighting how adherence to the identity of the cause of action is fundamental for the proper management of disputes related to road accidents.

Conclusions

The Court of Cassation, through this ruling, reiterates established principles in Italian civil law, contributing to ensuring greater legal certainty for the parties involved in damage compensation procedures. It is crucial for lawyers and professionals in the field to be aware of such rulings to provide adequate and informed defense for their clients.

Bianucci Law Firm