A group of flood victims from Sandomierz and the surrounding area against the State Treasury, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, the Poviat of Sandomierz and Municipality of Sandomierz
Originally an action for damages to members of the group; in the letter of February 16, 2012, the claim was amended by limiting the demand in action for payment to a demand for establishing liability.
The subject matter of the proceedings is to establish of the Defendant’s compensatory liability towards the members of the group arising out of a tort consisting in an exercise of public authority, manifesting itself in negligence in the performance of flood protection duties. The consequence of a series of negligence on the part of the Defendants was the overflow of water through the crown of the right-bank flood embankment located along the Vistula river in the Koćmierzów district and its interruption during the flood in 2010, as well as all further consequences of this event.
The Defendants’ negligence included, on the one hand, irregularities related to the construction and maintenance of the flood embankment, which was too low, and on the other hand – improper maintenance of the embankment and the riverbed, where no works to reduce the risk of flooding had been abandoned for many years.
26 members of the group
The case validly and finally concluded following the proceedings prosecuted before the courts of 1st and 2nd instance.
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Defendants’ cassation appeals, the former Group Members represented by the law firm have been engaged in settlement discussions with the Defendants since the early months of 2022.
As a result, the first six settlements were concluded on 28 October 2022, on the basis of which the Defendants paid compensation to the injured parties. A further six settlements were concluded on 17 February 2023. Discussions on behalf of the remaining injured parties are underway.
In parallel, seven individual actions brought by injured parties against the Defendants for the payment of damages remain pending before the Court of First Instance. From 2022 to 2023, one additional individual case was pending, which resulted in a settlement and payment of damages by the public party (defendant) to the Claimant.