Court of Appeals in Warsaw, 5th Civil Division, in the following composition:

Presiding Judge:           SSA Aleksandra Kempczyńska (spr.)

Judges:                           SSA Marta Szerel, SSA Bernard Chazan

having examined on February 11, 2021 in Warsaw at a closed session the case of the action of the Municipal Consumer Advocate in O. against Bank (…) Spółka Akcyjna in W. for payment

as a result of the complaint of both parties against the decision of the District Court in Warsaw of April 1, 2020, ref. no. IV C 1348/19,

1. A case in a group proceeding shall be heard by a court of three professional judges in accordance with Article 3(2) of the Law on Class Action. Article 15 zzs1 1 item does not apply to cases heard in group proceedings. 4 of the Law of March 2, 2020 on Special Arrangements Relating to the Prevention, Prevention and Control of COVID-19, Other Infectious Diseases and Emergencies Caused by Them, during the period of the epidemic emergency or the state of epidemics declared due to COVID-19 and within one year after the last one is revoked, according to which the court shall adjudicate with a single judge only in cases adjudicated according to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. Class proceedings are conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Investigation of Claims in Group Proceedings, and the fact that, in accordance with Article 24(1) of that law, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure apply to the extent not regulated therein, is irrelevant. This is because the composition of the court hearing the case in group proceedings is directly regulated in the Law on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings, hence the reference to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure with regard to the composition of the court is not.

Court of Appeal in Warsaw VI Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge:           SSA Beata Waś

after hearing on November 16, 2022 in Warsaw at a closed session the case of an action brought by A. D. as a representative of a class against the State Treasury – Council of Ministers, Minister of Health, Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration for determination

as a result of the respondent’s complaint against the decision of the District Court in Warsaw dated April 27, 2022, ref. act XXV C 136/21,

1. Claims based on an identical factual basis are claims that are based on the same factual basis (premise sensu stricto) or claims whose material facts are common (premise sensu largo). The existence of insignificant differences between individual bases of claims does not preclude the possibility of asserting claims in this procedure, but it is nevertheless necessary that material facts justify the demand common to all claims. The requirement of the same factual basis for the claims does not mean that all the facts of the case must be identical for each class member, since there will always – even in the case of the same cause of action – be individual circumstances pertaining to individual class members. The condition of an identical factual basis is met when the facts justifying the existence of the specific legal relationship that is the basis of the claims are the same for all class members. “This is not prevented by the existence of other facts that fall within the factual basis of the action, such as the nature of individual claims, their maturity or amount. The essence of class proceedings is commonality manifested in the demand, which must be typical (common) to all claims. The indicated condition means that the legal or factual situation of the members of the group must be the same, while the asserted claim must be of one type (homogeneity of claims), because only then it is possible to make a common claim.
2. From the purposive interpretation of Article 16(1) of the Law on the Investigation of Claims in Group Proceedings, it follows that in cases other than those involving monetary claims, plausibility is sufficient to establish a member’s membership in the group.
3. Since a demand for a determination of liability is not the same as a demand for an award of benefits, the court must take into account the dissimilarities between these claims and, with this in mind, assess whether the conditions for recognizing an action in class proceedings are met. If, on the other hand, the circumstances of the damage are so different that it would be inappropriate to evaluate them in a class proceeding, the likelihood that such damage occurred should then be considered sufficient.

The District Court in Warsaw, III Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge:           SSO Rafał Schmidt

after hearing on December 10, 2021 in Warsaw, at a closed session, the case from the action of (…) spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością with its registered office in P. against the State Treasury – President of the Council of Ministers and the State Treasury – Minister of Health

for determination

on the subject of the notification of Judge of the District Court Joanna Bitner about the potential basis for excluding her from the examination of the present case (k.1374 ),

1. However, the application of Article 417 of the Civil Code, as in effect prior to September 1, 2004, must take into account the Constitutional Court’s judgment of December 4, 2001, SK 18/00 (OTK 2001, No. 8, item 256), which ruled that Article 418 of the Civil Code is incompatible with Article 77(1) of the Polish Constitution, and that Article 417 of the Civil Code, understood to mean that the State Treasury is liable for damage caused by the unlawful action of a state official in performing an act entrusted to him, is compatible with Article 77(1) of the Polish Constitution. The underlying premise of this judgment was that the indicated provision of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland establishes a norm that ensures everyone’s right to compensation for damage caused by the unlawful action of a public authority. However, the content of Article 77(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland is so vague that it does not provide a basis for deriving civil law claims from it. Therefore, it is reasonable to indicate Article 417 of the Civil Code in conjunction with Article 77 of the Polish Constitution as the legal basis.
2. The compensation claim that arises on the part of shareholders in the event of loss of share value due to bankruptcy is a lucrum cessans type of compensation claim, i.e. compensation for loss of the right to dividends. Shareholders, as a result of the bankruptcy (and consequently, during the bankruptcy proceedings), have (theoretically) lost their right to dividends. By contrast, the loss of share value is de facto damage to the company, not to the shareholders. The legal construction of the joint-stock company and the resulting indirect participation of the shareholder in its activities thus determine, among other things, that the damage caused to the company cannot at the same time be considered a damage suffered by the shareholder.

District Court in Warsaw XXV Civil Division composed of:

Presiding Judge:           SSO Anna Pogorzelska

having examined on July 7, 2022 in Warsaw at a closed session the case of a class action brought by the District Consumer Ombudsman in the District (…) against (…) Joint Stock Company with its registered office in W. for payment

to determine the composition of the class

Court of Appeals in Warsaw V Civil Division in the following composition:

Presiding Judge:           SSA Robert Obrebski

after hearing on February 17, 2022 in Warsaw a case brought by the class representative of the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in S. acting on behalf of R. L., Z. A., A. B., L. S., D. I., A. F., E. B., S. B., W. G., J. K., I. B., P. R., M. C., A. K., J. P., R. D., L. I., I. P., A. N., R. S., E. Z., E. D., K. B., L. D., J. G., A. K., B. K., R. K., D. K., K. M., W. P., M. M., J. W., W. W., D. B., M. J., K. K., E. K. and P. N. v. (…) Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie spółka akcyjna, W. (formerly (…) Życie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń spółka akcyjna, W.), for the determination of

as a result of the defendant’s appeal against the judgment of the District Court in Warsaw dated December 14, 2020, ref. no. II C 222/16,

Court of Appeals in Warsaw V Civil Division in the following composition:

Presiding Judge: SSA Robert Obrębski

having examined on June 29, 2021 in Warsaw at a closed session the case of the action of the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in S. against (…) Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Spółka Akcyjna with its registered office in W. for determination

as a result of the defendant’s appeal against the judgment of the District Court in Warsaw dated December 14, 2020, ref. no. II C 222/16,

1. In class proceedings, an action to establish the liability of the defendant in a case for a monetary claim arising from an act constituting a single event (Article 2(3) in conjunction with Article 1(1) and (2)) is also permissible in a situation where the premise of the occurrence of the damage and its amount depends on the individual factual circumstances of the individual members of the class. The Court is of the opinion that the purpose of this stage of the proceedings was in no way to examine the legitimacy of the claim made on the grounds of the defendant’s liability for damages. Indeed, it is not permissible for the Court at the stage of preliminary examination of the admissibility of the examination of the claim to refer directly to the assessment of the merits of the claim in the form of conducting evaluative considerations on the circumstances justifying the existence and type of, for example, a causal link between the plaintiffs’ damage and the defendant’s behavior.
2. In addition, attention should be drawn to the need for a purposive interpretation of Article 1 of the Law on the Pursuit of Claims in Class Proceedings. Undoubtedly, the intention of the legislator was to make it easier (and not more difficult) for consumers, or persons who have suffered damage in connection with a dangerous product or a tort, to pursue their claims. Thus, the interpretation of the provisions of the Law on the Pursuit of Claims in Group Proceedings should be made in such a way as to facilitate the pursuit of such claims by group members.