CORPORATE | Conflicting Case Law on Limitations to Statutory Auditors’ Liability

Law No. 35 of 14 March 2025 amended Article 2407 of the Italian Civil Code, introducing a temporal and monetary limitations on statutory auditors’ liability in the event of negligent violations. On 22 January 2026, the Italian Supreme Court affirmed – with its rulings No. 1390 and No. 1392 – the principle of non-retroactivity of these provisions, holding that both the quantitative cap and the new limitation period apply only to conduct occurring after the entry into force of Law No. 35 of 14 March 2025. The following day, on 23 January 2026, the Court of Bari addressed the same issue, reaching the opposite conclusion on quantitative limits. According to the Court of Bari, quantitative limits to statutory auditors’ liability may also apply to conducts occurred prior to the entry into force of the new provision, on the on the basis that (a) the assessment, quantification and liquidation of the damages take place at the time of the judicial decision, and tha (b) the amended version of Article 2407 of the Italian Civil Code constitutes the governing law in force applicable to ongoing litigations.

Newsletter n. 116 – March 2026