tomarial has a legal service specializing in agri-food law, which provides legal advice to companies in this sector, which has specific needs. The recent strike by carriers, as well as the post-pandemic shipping collapses, have caused these companies serious damage due to the shipping and supply problems they have generated. This type of situation has particularly negative consequences in the agri-food sector because it deals with perishable materials: delays in transport can lead to the total loss of the product in a very short time.
From the Tomarial Agri-Food Law Area, preventive and pre-litigation advice is recommended to these companies, to avoid, as far as possible, that conflicts lead to a judicial process. But in the event that matters are prosecuted, it is essential to have specialized advice to address the procedural approach and seek a favorable solution.
Practical tips
Tomás Vázquez Lépinette, founding partner of Tomarial and Director of its Legal department, provides some practical advice to agri-food companies, to face the multiple uncertainties of the current situation:
- Preventive security is essential
- Both for the client, to whom the orders do not arrive, and for the supplier, who cannot deliver them due to transport problems, the contracts must be reviewed in detail: sales/supply and transport.
- The insurance contracted must be analyzed to study the possibilities they offer to recover or reduce the losses suffered.
- It is necessary to analyze whether there are "hardship" clauses (difficulty in compliance) and force majeure to see if a suspension of supply can be justified or not.
IN ANY CASE, EITHER TO NEGOTIATE OR IN CASE THE MATTER IS JUDICIALIZED:
- When damage is caused to the company due to a problem in transportation or supply, it must be properly documented. In particular, it is necessary to make expert reports with specialized entities in order to prove the extent of the damage caused. For example, when fresh produce arrives in poor condition due to transport delays.
- All actions carried out to try to minimize the damage caused, through other replacement purchases or substitution sales, must also be documented. It is a requirement imposed by insurance regulations, as well as general commercial regulations (principle of good faith).
