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

Presiding Judge:            Bogusław Kamiński, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                            Katarzyna Waszczuk, Regional Court Judge;

Izabela Bogusz, Regional Court Judge

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

decides to:

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

Presiding Judge: Bogusław Kamiński, Regional Court Judge

Judges: Katarzyna Waszczuk, Regional Court Judge; Izabela Bogusz, Regional Court Judge

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

decides to:

1. The jurisdiction and composition of the court are regulated in Article 3 Sections 1 and 2 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings. It stipulates that group proceedings fall within the jurisdiction of the regional court and that the court hears the case in a panel of three professional judges. It should also be emphasized that Article 24 Section 1 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group 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 3¹ of the Code of Civil Procedure, 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 Pursuing Claims in Group 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) Section 1 Point 4 of the Act of 2^nd March 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 group proceedings, as Article 3 Section 2 in conjunction with Article 24 Section 1 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group 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 Group 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:

Dariusz Zawistowski, President of the Supreme Court

in the case brought by D. C.

against V. AG in W. (Germany)

for payment,

The Supreme Court, composed of:

Presiding Judge:           Krzysztof Strzelczyk, Supreme Court Judge

Judges:                            Władysław Pawlak, Supreme Court Judge;

Roman Trzaskowski, Supreme Court Judge (Judge – 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, 5^th Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge:                     Elżbieta Milewska-Czaja, Judge of the Court of Appeal

Judges:                                      Barbara Rączka-Sekścińska, Judge of the Court of Appeal;

Mariusz Wicki, Judge of the Court of Appeal

having examined on 9^th June 2021, in Gdańsk, at a session in camera, the case brought by the Poviat Consumer Ombudsman in S., acting as a representative of the group, against Bank (…) Joint-Stock Company in G. for a determination, or alternatively for a shaping as a result of the defendant’s complaint against the decision of the Regional Court in Gdańsk of 11^th September 2020, file ref. no. IC 245/15,

decides:

1. When certifying a group proceeding, the court only decides on its admissibility and does not examine other issues related to the group proceeding, including whether or not individual members belong to the group. The assessment of the substantive merits of the group proceeding also falls outside the scope of the assessment of its admissibility, as this is only carried out at a later stage of the proceeding.
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 group proceedings.
3. As part of the verification procedure provided for in Article 10 Section 1 of the act concerning the group proceedings, the declaration contained in the statement of claim must be relied upon. This means that a group action may only be dismissed if the initiating party does not refer to any of the legal grounds specified in Article 1 Section 2 of the act.
4. The term “same factual basis” should be understood as basing claims on similar events, which corresponds to the concept of a common factual basis constituting an element of formal joint participation. The claims pursued must therefore be homogeneous, i.e., of the same type and based on the common factual basis. Claims based on the common 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 that there may be slight differences between the individual bases of the claims, but it is essential that the relevant factual circumstances justify a demand 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 Group 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 group action. For such a list to be effective, it is important that the statements of joining 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, 25^th Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge:           Piotr Bednarczyk, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                           Anna Błażejczyk, Regional Court Judge;

Paweł Duda, Regional Court Judge

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

decides

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

Presiding Judge: Piotr Królikowski, Regional Court Judge

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

decides to: