Agency disputes often raise the question:
👉 Does access to information “disappear” when the claim for commission becomes time-barred?
📌 As a general rule, a commission payment claim has a three-year limitation period.
At the same time, the agent may request information and documents needed to verify whether accounts have been settled correctly.
This is where the problem begins.
Agents frequently request data going back more than three years.
👉 Must the principal provide it?
⚖️ Two competing approaches operate in practice, and case law has not yet established a uniform position.
1️⃣ “Information follows the fate of commission”
🔵 The information claim is ancillary and serves to establish the amount of commission.
🔵 Once the payment claim is time-barred, the request for information therefore loses its purpose.
👉 Under this approach, expiry of the limitation period closes the issue both for payment and for access to data.
2️⃣ “Information is independent of commission”
🔵 The information claim is independent, serving both an ancillary and an oversight function.
🔵 It enables assessment of the principal’s reliability and loyalty, regardless of whether commission itself can be recovered.
👉 Under this approach, time-barred commission does not automatically prevent access to information.
⚠️ This creates a practical risk which is sometimes underestimated.
Disclosing information concerning “time-barred” commission may appear neutral for the principal.
👉 Nothing could be further from the truth.
The agent may use the data to:
▪️ develop arguments in other disputes;
▪️ demonstrate disloyalty or incorrect settlements;
▪️ support claims other than commission, such as an indemnity claim.
📌 Conclusion?
Expiry of the limitation period for commission does not always end the dispute between agent and principal.
Even when payment can no longer readily be pursued, the dispute may shift to information, documents and the way the agreement was performed.
Risk assessment should therefore go beyond determining whether commission itself can still be claimed.
