STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR VEHICLE DEPRECIATION CLAIMS

Vehicle depreciation is defined as the decrease in the value of a vehicle following a traffic accident or other damage event. This loss occurs when the vehicle cannot reach its previous market value even after repairs and is taken into account by potential buyers during evaluation. Compensation for vehicle depreciation after traffic accidents is a frequently debated issue between consumer rights and insurance companies. However, statute of limitations periods also play an important role in these compensation claims.

The statute of limitations refers to the requirement that a legal right or claim must be exercised within a specific period. In claims for compensation for vehicle depreciation following traffic accidents, the statute of limitations is crucial because it determines the timeframe within which the consumer or victim can pursue their legal protection claims. If the statute of limitations expires, the consumer or victim cannot file a compensation claim, and such a claim will be considered legally invalid.

Relevant Laws:

Turkish Commercial Code

Statute of Limitations
ARTICLE 1420- (1) All claims arising from the insurance contract
limitations of two years from the date the claim becomes due, and, subject to the provisions of Article 1482,
claims relating to insurance compensation and insurance proceeds
are subject to a statute of limitations of six years from the date the risk occurred.
(2) The provisions of other laws are reserved.

Statute of Limitations
ARTICLE 1482- (1) Claims for compensation directed against the insurer
are subject to a ten-year statute of limitations from the date of the insured event.

Turkish Code of Obligations

Statute of
Rule I
ARTICLE 72- A claim for compensation is subject to a statute of limitations of two years from the date the injured party learns of the damage and the person liable for compensation, and in any case, ten years from the date the act was committed. However, if the compensation arises from an act punishable by a penalty for which the penal code prescribes a longer statute of limitations, that longer statute of limitations shall apply.

The two-year relative and ten-year absolute limitation periods stipulated in Article 72 of the Turkish Code of Obligations must be applied.

ARTICLE 49 - Anyone who causes harm to another through a culpable and unlawful act is obligated to compensate for that harm.

Even if there is no legal rule prohibiting the harmful act, whoever intentionally causes harm to another through an immoral act is obligated to compensate for that harm.

Highway Traffic Law

Statute of limitations:

Article 109 – Claims for compensation for material damages arising from motor vehicle accidents are subject to a statute of limitations of two years from the date the injured party learns of the damage and the person liable for compensation, and in any case, ten years from the date of the accident.

If the lawsuit arises from an act punishable by law, and the penal code prescribes a longer statute of limitations for that act, this longer period also applies to claims for monetary compensation.

If the statute of limitations is interrupted against the person liable for compensation, it is also interrupted against the insurer. An interruption of the statute of limitations with respect to the insurer is deemed to have also been interrupted with respect to the person liable for compensation.

In motor vehicle accidents, the right of recourse between parties liable for compensation expires after two years, starting from the day they fully fulfill their obligations and become aware of the person against whom they have a right of recourse.

In other respects, general provisions apply.

When we examine the relevant legal provisions, we see that there are three types of limitation periods for claims related to vehicle depreciation: ordinary, absolute, and extraordinary. The ordinary period is the two-year limitation period mentioned in Article 72 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. The absolute period is the 10-year maximum period also mentioned in Article 72.

Supreme Court Jurisprudence No. 2016/7272

-DECISION-

The court partially accepted the case; value loss The court rejected the plaintiff's request and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff 1000 TL, requested as rent for the repair period, along with legal interest from March 12, 2012. The judgment was appealed by the plaintiff's attorney.
The lawsuit stemmed from a traffic accident value loss And vehicle This relates to the rental fee claim.
1- The information and documents in the file should be discussed, along with the evidence relied upon in the reasoning of the court's decision in the evaluation Since there is no procedural or legal irregularity, the other appeals of the plaintiff's attorney, excluding those covered in the following paragraph, must be rejected.
2- The lawsuit stems from a traffic accident in the vehicle occurred value loss And vehicle This relates to the rental fee claim.
The plaintiff's claim for monetary compensation in the lawsuit petition in the vehicle formed value loss And vehicle It relates to the rental fee.
The expert report on which the judgment was based determined whether the vehicle's repair was economically feasible and whether it should be written off as a total loss without evaluation It was stated that the vehicle in question was 11 years old in the vehicle value loss It has been determined that it will not occur.
In the expert report on which the court based its judgment vehicle value loss The calculation was not done correctly. In the expert report on which the judgment was based.. in the vehicle value loss determination by our Department value loss The basis for determining the vehicle's condition is its value on the used car market at the time of the accident, undamaged value with the used car market after being repaired following the accident value a general statement without adhering to the difference criterion evaluation This was achieved by doing so. In the vehicle occurred value loss; the market value of the vehicle as a used car in undamaged condition as of the date of the accident, according to free market conditions value and the market value after repair, taking into account the vehicle's make, model, extent of damage, and the characteristics of the damaged parts value These two amounts need to be identified and then calculated based on the decrease (difference) between them.

The court will discuss whether the repair of the plaintiff's vehicle is economically feasible based on its second-hand market price, and whether it should be written off as a total loss; if writing off the vehicle as a total loss is deemed appropriate.. value loss If it is decided that this will not occur, and if declaring the vehicle a total loss is not appropriate, then according to our departmental procedures as explained above.. value loss without calculation, value loss a general evaluation and taking into account the age of the vehicle in the vehicle value loss It was deemed incorrect to base the judgment on an expert report stating that this would not happen.
CONCLUSION: For the reasons explained in paragraph 1 above, the appellant's other appeals are rejected; the appellant's appeals explained in paragraph 2 are accepted, and the judgment is REVERSED; the advance court fee shall be returned to the appellant upon request. This decision was made unanimously on February 1, 2017.

 

Law Student Intern

Behiye Zeynep Ozturk