Settlement by Civil Lawsuit
Filing of a Civil Lawsuit
- A party who experiences damages from the use of an inferior food product can file a civil lawsuit against the supplier of said food product, in the manner of claiming compensation for losses resulting from an illegal activity.
Claim of Compensation for Losses from Illegal Activity
- A losses compensation claim can be made to receive a monetary compensation when damages or losses are incurred from the use of an inferior food product.
- To have validity, a claim of compensation for losses resulting from the use of an inferior food product must fulfill all of the following conditions (Article 750 of the Civil Law Act):
· Intent or negligence attributed to the offender
· Illegality of the offense
· A causal relationship between the offense and the resulting loss
· Generation of loss
Effect of a Civil Lawsuit
- A settlement is finalized if the losing party does not raise a dispute.
- To dispute a settlement, a petition of appeal can be submitted to the court within 2 weeks after the date of settlement (Article 396 and Article 408 of the Civil Proceedings Act).
Consumer Class Suit
Filing of a Consumer Class Suit
- Multiple consumers who experience losses from the purchase of a product can bring a class suit against the supplier through a consumer group.
· If a supplier directly infringes the rights and interests of consumers in terms of their lives, persons, and property, and continues to do so, an established consumer group, supplier group, or non-profit group can represent individual consumers in a lawsuit to prohibit and stop the infringement of consumer rights and interests (Article 70 of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- Unlike a traditional class suit, which can result in a direct compensation for losses, a consumer class suit leads to a settlement which only prohibits an illegal activity of a business through such measures as the prohibition of sale of a particular product or a correction of unfair terms of trade. For example, a request can be made to the court for the prohibition of sale of a product harmful to children, or for a correction of unfair terms of trade.
· For a consumer to receive monetary compensation, the individual consumer must file a civil lawsuit.
Effect of a Consumer Class Suit
- To dispute a settlement, a petition of appeal can be submitted to the court within 2 weeks after the date of settlement (Article 396 and Article 408 of the Civil Proceedings Act).
- If a claim made by a consumer group is dismissed in court, other groups may not file a lawsuit on the same matter, except in the following cases (Article 75 of the Framework Act on Consumers):
· After a settlement is finalized, an institution established by the central government or a local government presents new findings or evidence on the matter
· When it is discovered that the dismissal was orchestrated by the plaintiff