Brief Facts of the Case:
On May 14, 2007, A and B signed the "Vehicle Transfer Agreement", which stipulated that Party A would transfer its own tractor and three-axle semi-trailer to Party B, and the vehicle transfer price was 170,000 yuan, after the agreement was signed, Party B paid Party A 110,000 yuan, and the remaining 60,000 yuan Party B issued an IOU to Party A, which stated that "Party A is owed 60,000 yuan for the sale of the car, because Party B has already looked after the car when buying the car, so the repayment has nothing to do with the operation status of the vehicle, safety accidents and the condition of the vehicle, and must be repaid within one month." Debtor: Party B, May 14, 2007".
Later, because Party A did not truthfully state the vehicle condition to Party B when Party A transferred the vehicle, Party B refused to pay Party A the remaining purchase price, and after repeated communication between the two parties, Party A filed a lawsuit with the court in May 2021, requiring Party B to pay the remaining purchase price.
After the lawsuit was filed in this case to the court, Party B submitted a reply in accordance with the law, the main reason of which was that the limitation period for litigation for the purchase price involved in the case had expired, and the court should reject Party A's litigation claim in accordance with the law.
After the case was tried by the people's court in accordance with the law, the lawsuit was finally rejected on the grounds that the car payment claimed by Party A had exceeded the statute of limitations.
Case Review
The above facts of the case are a case in which the author recently appeared in court on behalf of the defendant in the Zhouzhi County People's Court to respond to the lawsuit, and the court rejected his claim on the grounds that the plaintiff's claimed rights have exceeded the statute of limitations. Should the borrower (debtor) give us a new IOU (IOU)? Or is it clear that the other party owes us what we owe why did the court reject our claim?
In light of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China (lapsed), the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application <中华人民共和国民法总则>of the Limitation System (lapsed), the General Provisions of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China (which has lapsed), the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, and the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Limitation System in the Trial of Civil Cases, we will consider what is the limitation of action and the scope of application of the limitation period, The following explanations are given to you on how to interrupt the limitation period, hoping to provide readers with reference and help to actively safeguard their rights during the limitation period.
1. What is the statute of limitations?
The limitation of actions means that the obligee whose civil rights have been infringed does not exercise its rights within the statutory limitation period, and when the limitation period expires, the debtor obtains the right to defend the limitation period. The purpose of the limitation period is to urge the right holder to exercise its rights in a timely manner, stabilize the legal order and the security of transactions.
Relevant legal provisions:
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 188:The limitation period for requesting protection of civil rights to the people's court is three years. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions.
The limitation period is calculated from the date on which the obligee knows or should have known that the right has been infringed and that the obligor has been injured. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions. However, if more than 20 years have elapsed since the date on which the right has been damaged, the people's court shall not protect it, and where there are special circumstances, the people's court may decide to extend it on the basis of the right holder's application.
2. Scope of application of the statute of limitations
The scope of application of the limitation period is also known as the object of the limitation period. In Article 188 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China cited above, the object of the statute of limitations is only expressed as "civil rights", and does not further distinguish between specific types of rights such as the right to dominate, the right to claim, the right to defend and the right to form. So, what is the scope of application of the statute of limitations?
(1) The statute of limitations shall apply to claims
The statute of limitations applies mainly to claims. Claim refers to the right of a creditor to request a specific debtor to act for or without a certain act, including contractual debts, tortious debts, unjust enrichment debts, and debts without cause management.
There are two main reasons why the statute of limitations applies to claims: First, the realization of the claim depends on the debtor performing certain obligations, but the burden of obligations borne by the debtor should exist within a certain period of time, and the law should not protect the creditor's claims indefinitely, otherwise it is not conducive to the stability of the transaction order. Therefore, the right to claim should be limited by the limitation period. Second, the basic effect of the limitation period is to give the debtor the right of defense, and the right of defense and the right of claim are corresponding rights, which is a right to defend the right to claim. Therefore, the limitation defence applies only to the claim.
(2) The statute of limitations does not apply to claims in rem
The right to claim property rights refers to the right of the owner of property rights to request the cessation of infringement, removal of obstruction and return of property based on property rights when all property is infringed or may be infringed, which is an independent claim based on property rights.
The limitation rule is generally not applicable to the property claim, and its reasons are mainly twofold: first, the property right itself as the right to dominate does not apply the limitation rule, as part of the property right, the property right claim cannot be extinguished due to the passage of the limitation period; second, the basic function of the property claim is to ensure the right holder's perfect control over the property, which is a unique method of protecting the property right. Therefore, the statute of limitations does not apply to claims in rem.
Article 196:The provisions on the limitation of actions shall not apply to the following claims:
(1) Requesting the cessation of infringement, removal of obstruction, or elimination of danger;
(b) the obligee of the right in immovable property and the registered right in movable property requests the return of the property;
(3) Requesting the payment of maintenance, alimony or alimony;
(4) Other claims for which the statute of limitations does not apply in accordance with law.
Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Limitation System in the Trial of Civil Cases
Article 1 Where a party may raise a limitation of actions defense against a claim for a claim, but raise a limitation defense against the following claims, the people's court will not support it:
(1) the right to claim payment of the principal and interest of the deposit;
(2) The right to claim the principal and interest of the redemption of treasury bonds, financial bonds, and corporate bonds issued to unspecified targets;
(3) claims for payment of capital arising from the investment relationship;
(4) Other claims for claims that do not apply in accordance with law as provided for in the limitation of actions.
III. How to interrupt the statute of limitations?
According to the relevant provisions of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Limitation System in the Trial of Civil Cases, the specific circumstances of interrupting the limitation period include the following methods:
(1) Where one of the parties directly transmits to the other party a document claiming rights, and the other party signs, seals, or fingerprints on the document, or is not signed, sealed, or fingerprinted but can otherwise prove that the document has reached the other party;
(2) one of the parties claims its rights by sending a letter or data message, and the letter or data message arrives or should reach the other party;
(3) where one of the parties is a financial institution and deducts the principal and interest owed from the account of the other party in accordance with the provisions of law or as agreed by the parties;
(4) Where the whereabouts of one of the parties are unknown, and the other party publishes a public announcement with the content of the claimed right in a provincial-level influential media at the national level or in the domicile of one of the parties whose whereabouts are unknown;
(5) The right holder actively requires the other party to perform its rights and preserves relevant evidence (writing, telephone recordings, WeChat records, etc.);
(6) Actively filing a lawsuit with a people's court or arbitration institution, applying for a payment order, or applying for arbitration;
(7) Applying for pre-litigation property preservation, pre-litigation interim injunction and other pre-litigation measures, applying for bankruptcy, and declaring bankruptcy claims.
Since there are many circumstances concerning the interruption of the limitation period, they are not listed here, and can be found in detail in the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Limitation System in the Trial of Civil Cases.
4. Can the court take the initiative to invoke the statute of limitations?
According to Article 2 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Limitation System in the Trial of Civil Cases, the limitation period must be asserted by the parties and cannot be applied by the court on its own initiative.
Due to the limitation of the length of the text, can the author claim only the rights that the parties are most concerned about in daily consultation and representation cases? The specific circumstances of how to interrupt the limitation period are simply elaborated, and it is inevitable that there will be unfinished points, such as when you encounter specific problems, you still hope to consult professionals in time, and do not lose the right to win the case due to blind confidence or out of excessive trust in the other party.
Remember: The law does not protect "those who sleep on their rights."