What is the time limit for filing a claim after a “MASC” (appropriate dispute resolution method) ends without agreement?
If the other party does not reply, you can sue once thirty calendar days have passed since they received the invitation to negotiate, or sooner if they expressly reject it. If you did get as far as negotiating, you can do so when the negotiation ends without agreement or when three months have passed since the first meeting without one being reached. You then have one year to file the claim, counted from when the other party received the invitation, if they did not reply, or from when the negotiation ended. After that year, the attempt is no longer valid and has to be repeated. That year does not extend the time limits for claiming, that is, limitation periods and time bars (“caducidad”), which have to be watched separately.
Alburquerque Abogados
When you can sue
The law deems the attempt to reach an agreement to have been made at the following points:
- When thirty calendar days have passed since the other party received the invitation to negotiate without replying or agreeing to meet.
- When thirty calendar days have passed since one party made a proposal to the other without receiving a reply.
- When the other party rejects the invitation, even if those thirty days have not yet passed.
- When, after meeting or starting to talk, the negotiation ends without agreement or three months pass from the first meeting without one being reached.
Calendar days are all counted, including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Suing too early is risky. In December 2025, the “Audiencia Provincial” of Barcelona, the provincial appeal court, upheld the refusal to admit a claim filed on the same day on which conciliation had been requested, because the attempt had not yet ended.
The one-year period to sue
The attempt is not valid indefinitely. The law requires the claim to be filed within one year of receipt of the invitation, if the other party did not reply, or of the end of the negotiation without agreement. If that year is allowed to pass, a new attempt to reach an agreement will have to be made before suing.
Some Catalan courts also check that the attempt is recent and not an old negotiation that was not followed up. That is why it is not advisable to use up the whole year.
The time limits for claiming
The one-year period that applies to “MASC” (appropriate dispute resolution methods) does not replace limitation periods or time bars, which are the time limits the law sets for claiming each thing. The invitation to negotiate affects them differently:
- The limitation period is interrupted. When the negotiation ends without agreement, the full period starts to run again.
- The time bar is only paused while the negotiation lasts. Afterwards it continues to run with the days it had left.
If the time limit for claiming is a time bar and little of it remains, it is advisable to sue as soon as possible, without waiting for the end of the year. In Catalonia, moreover, it is not clear whether requesting mediation interrupts the limitation period or only pauses it, so the prudent course is also to claim the debt in the same letter.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.