Decision of the Court of Appeals in ‎‎Łódź 1st Civil Division of 3rd December 2013
I ACz 781/13

1. The subject of each proceedings is the claim, in the formal meaning, and it is its contents that indicate what the claimant party demands from the opposing party as well as what form of the protection of their rights they are expecting to obtain by means of seeking redress. It is obvious that the content of the procedural claim will be dependent on the legal situation of the claimant who makes (specifies) this claim and who will strive towards implementing the relevant substantive law norm (or possibly several norms) in the proceedings that will be pending before the court.
2. The requirement of the identical or similar (equal) factual basis does not mean the requirement for all of the elements of the factual grounds in the case of each of the claims to be identical or equal. It is sufficient for a common element to exist in the scope of the factual circumstances, constituting a basis for the claim of the group members, meaning the event that caused damage.
3. The opinion that with the assessment as to whether we are dealing with the homogeneity of the claims the criteria from Article 72 para 1 and 2 of the CCP (Polish Code of Civil Procedure) should be applied is incorrect. The premise of homogeneity is more broadly understood on the grounds of the act than against the background of procedural joint participation (Article 72 para 1 point 2 of the CCP), which requires the claims to be based on an identical factual and legal basis, in opposition to Article 1 section 1 of the Act (Polish Act on pursuing claims in group proceedings), which does not place such a condition.
4. In a group proceedings, participation of many entities on the defendant side is admissible. This is not in contradiction either with the aim of the Act, or its specific provisions. In the event of many parties appear on the side of the defendant, the provisions of the CCP on joint participation apply, and in group proceedings, the claims pursued by several persons jointly liable for torts, are indicated as an example.