Decision of the Regional Court in Kraków 1st Civil Division of 2nd July 2015
I C 1419/10
The Regional Court in Krakow 1st Civil Division with the following ruling bench:
Presiding judge: Marta Woźniak, Regional Court Judge
Judges: Agnieszka Włodyga, Regional Court Judge
Ewa Olszewska, Regional Court Judge
having examined on 2nd July 2015 in Krakow at the hearing in camera the group action filed by Z. R. acting as the representative of the group consisting of: [data of 27 group members] against the State Treasury – Voivode Ś., Director of the Regional Board for Water Management in K.; the Ś. Voivodeship; the Poviat of S.; the Municipality of S., for establishment,
decides to:
change the decision of the Regional Court in Krakow 1st Civil Division of 26 June 2014 by admitting the evidence from an opinion of (…) (instead of an opinion of scientific or scientific and research institute) under the following circumstances:
- determination of the status of flood protection of the areas located in the area of the defendants’ jurisdiction, including in particular determination of the V. River bed condition and the V. River water flow speed in May 2010; what the impact of the lack of drainage, regulation and dredging works on the risk of flooding of the areas located on the right side of this section of the V. River was and whether the lack of these works contributed to the breaching (as a result of washing away) of the flood embankment in K. on 19 May 2010 and the breach of the embankments of the right tributary of the V. River – the T. River in May 2010; whether and to what extent the condition of the river bed and the condition of the embanked area (overgrown with trees and shrubs) reduced the flow of the flood wave in May and June 2010 and what the impact of the V. River bed condition was; determination of the condition of the embankment areas in the poviat of S. on the water level during the flood wave in May and June 2010 in relation to the height of the flood embankment crown; determination of the causes of the flood embankment breach in K.;
- determination of the condition of water drainage facilities located in the area of the defendants’ jurisdiction, including in particular the technical condition of the flood embankment located along the V. River in the poviat of S., in the district of K. in May 2010; whether there were deficiencies in the modernization and maintenance of these embankments in the years of 2001-2010 before the breach of the embankments caused by washing away on 19 May 2010; whether the structure of the right-bank flood embankment of the V. River in the poviat s. at the height of K. was compliant with the legal requirements and the relevant standards; whether and to what extent the condition of the embankment increased the risk of flooding of the areas located on the right side of this section of V. River and contributed to the breach in the flood embankment in K. (as a result of blurring) on 19 May 2010 and the breach in the embankments of the right-side tributary of the V. River – the T. River in May 2010.
