The Regional Court in Opole, 1st Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSO Bogusław Kamiński

Judges:                 SSO Katarzyna Waszczuk, SSO Izabela Bogusz

having examined on October 14, 2019, at a hearing the case brought by [data of 35 group members] against (…) Sp. z o.o. with its registered office in O. for payment,

The Regional Court in Opole, 1st Civil Division, composed of the following:

Presiding Judge: SSO Bogusław Kamiński

Judges:                 SSO Katarzyna Waszczuk, SSO Izabela Bogusz

having examined on October 23, 2019, in Opole, at a closed session, the case brought by [data of 35 group members] against (…) Sp. z o.o. with its registered office in O. for payment,

1. The jurisdiction and composition of the court are regulated in Article 3(1) and (2) of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Class Action Proceedings. It stipulates that class action proceedings fall within the jurisdiction of the district court and that the court hears the case in a panel of three professional judges. It should also be emphasized that Article 24(1) of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Class Action Proceedings indicates that only in matters not regulated by the Act shall the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure apply, with the exception of Articles 8, 117-124, Articles 194-196, Articles 204, 205, 2053 2 and 5, and Articles 425-50514.
2. Pursuant to Articles 47 § 3 and 31p.c., decisions outside the hearing are issued by a court composed of a single judge. Orders, on the other hand, are issued by the presiding judge. This scope is not separately regulated in the Act on the Pursuit of Claims in Class Proceedings, hence the court is entitled to act in the above-mentioned scope with a panel of one judge. However, this cannot be applied to adjudicating on the case.
3. Pursuant to Article 15 zzs(1) paragraph 1 point 4 of the Act of March 2, 2020 on special measures related to the prevention, counteracting, and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them during the period of an epidemic threat or epidemic state declared due to COVID-19 and within one year of the cancellation of the last of these, in cases heard in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, in the first and second instance, the court shall hear cases with a single judge; the president of the court may order that a case be heard by a panel of three judges if he or she considers it appropriate due to the particular complexity or precedent-setting nature of the case. This provision, as it establishes a different composition of the court than that in force outside the period of epidemic threat, should be interpreted narrowly, only to situations where the composition of the court is regulated by the Code of Civil Procedure. However, this is not the case in class action proceedings, as Article 3(2) in conjunction with Article 24(1) of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Class Action Proceedings regulates this issue separately, excluding the application of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure in this respect.
4. Since the Act on Pursuing Claims in Class Action Proceedings explicitly provides for the case to be heard by a three-member panel of judges, a single judge cannot be considered competent, and proceedings conducted by an incompetent panel must be considered invalid.

The Supreme Court, composed of:

President of the Supreme Court Dariusz Zawistowski

in the case brought by D. C.

against V. AG in W. (Germany)

for payment,

The Supreme Court, composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSN Krzysztof Strzelczyk

Judges:                 SSN Władysław Pawlak, SSN Roman Trzaskowski (rapporteur)

in the case brought by D. C. as representative of the group

against V. AG in W.

for payment,

The Court of Appeal in Gdańsk, 5th Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSA Elżbieta Milewska-Czaja

Judges:                 SSA Barbara Rączka-Sekścińska, SSA Mariusz Wicki

having examined on June 9, 2021, in Gdańsk, in a closed session, the case brought by the District Consumer Ombudsman in S., acting as a representative of the group, against Bank (…) Spółka Akcyjna in G. for a determination, or alternatively for a ruling as a result of the defendant’s appeal against the decision of the Regional Court in Gdańsk of September 11, 2020, file ref. no. IC 245/15,

1. When certifying a class action, the court only decides on its admissibility and does not examine other issues related to the class action, including whether or not individual members belong to the group. The assessment of the substantive merits of the class action also falls outside the scope of the assessment of its admissibility, as this is only carried out at a later stage of the proceedings.
2. The content of the statements attached to the statement of claim, in conjunction with the content of the statement of claim, must clearly express the will of the member of the initiative group to join the group and consent to the person of its representative bringing the action, identify the members of the group and the content and basis of the claims. It is permissible to use a reference to the statement of claim in these statements in order to indicate the claims, the circumstances justifying the claim, the circumstances justifying membership of the group, and the evidence, provided that the content of the statement of claim together with the content of the statements attached to the statement of claim enables the court to assess the admissibility of the case in class action proceedings.
3. As part of the verification procedure provided for in Article 10(1) of the Class Action Act, the declaration contained in the statement of claim must be relied upon. This means that a class action may only be dismissed if the initiating party does not refer to any of the legal grounds specified in Article 1(2) of the Act.
4. The term “same factual basis” should be understood as claims based on similar events, which corresponds to the concept of a common factual basis constituting an element of formal participation. The claims pursued must therefore be homogeneous, i.e., of the same type and based on the same factual basis. Claims based on the same factual basis are claims based on the same factual basis (premise sensu stricto) or claims whose relevant factual circumstances are common (premise sensu largo). It is permissible for there to be slight differences between the individual bases of the claims, but it is essential that the relevant factual circumstances justify a claim that is common to all claims.
5. If it is impossible to standardize the factual basis of monetary claims for all members of the group on the above basis, such standardization must take place in subgroups of at least two persons, with reference to a formal criterion of a general nature constituting the actual basis of the common cause.

1. In light of Article 12, sentence 2 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Class Action Proceedings, it is necessary to specify the deadline by which the claimant is required to prepare and submit to the court a list of persons who have joined the class action. For such a list to be effective, it is important that the statements of accession to the group, which are attached to the list, are submitted within the time limit set by the court.
2. The main purpose of dividing into groups or subgroups is to standardize claims and facilitate the pursuit of monetary claims. However, it is not possible to standardize a single claim. Standardization of claims is only possible when there are at least two claims. Furthermore, it is not permissible to create a subgroup for two persons who are jointly entitled to a single claim.

The Regional Court in Warsaw, 25th Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSO Piotr Bednarczyk

Judges:                 SSO Anna Błażejczyk, SSO Paweł Duda

having examined on May 6, 2019, in Warsaw, at a closed session, the case brought by M. P. as representative of the group against Bank (…) S.A. with its registered office in W. (…) Bank (…) in C. Bank (…) in S. W. Bank (…) with its registered office in J. for a determination,

The Regional Court in Warsaw, 1st Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSO Piotr Królikowski

having examined on December 13, 2021, in Warsaw, at a closed session, the case brought by M. P. against Bank (…) S.A. with its registered office in W., (…) (…) in C., (…) in S., (…) with its registered office in J., for a declaration,