Case law > Decision of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw 5th Civil Division of 10th March 2020

Decision of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw 5th Civil Division of 10th March 2020
V ACz 97/20

  1. Claims based on the same factual basis are claims, the factual basis of which are the same or claims whose relevant factual circumstances are common. The abovementioned “commonality” should be interpreted widely. The requirement of the same or equal factual basis of the claims does not mean that the factual basis of the lawsuit consists of identical circumstances, but their relevant similarity is sufficient.
  1. The essence of group proceedings is the gathering of many entities’ claims in one proceeding. Such a cumulation is justified due to the economics of the proceedings and the pointlessness of conducting many similar cases. Group proceedings are to be a special procedural institution to resolve more and more frequent conflicts which a larger number of people are involved in. The function of the proceedings is, among others, increasing the efficiency of examining cases regarding the same legal and factual issues, by including the assessment of these issues in one proceeding. This allows the courts to be relieved from the repeated and time-consuming judgement of analogous issues constituting the premises for many claims submitted by individual group members and eliminates the risk of incompatible judicature on these issues.
  1. The object of the group proceedings aimed at the establishment of the defendant’s liability, are the only circumstances common for all group members, not individual circumstances concerning particular group members, which will be examined in subsequent individual proceedings.

 

The Court of Appeals in Warsaw 5th Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:              Bernard Chazan, Court of Appeals Judge

Judges:                              Edyta Jefimko, Court of Appeals Judge (rapporteur)

  Robert Obrębski, Court of Appeals Judge

having examined on 10th March 2020 in Warsaw at the hearing in camera the group action filed by Ł. K. against (…) Bank Spółka Akcyjna with its registered office in W., for payment,

following the defendant’s complaint against the decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw of 27th September 2019, file ref. no. IV C 281/18,

decides to

  1. dismiss the complaint.