Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 24th Civil Division of 15th September 2016
XXIV C 500/14

1. As a direct result of the provisions of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings, if, from the circumstances of the case it follows that not all of the potential members of the group have already submitted declarations on joining the group, the court decides on the announcement on the commencement of group proceedings.
2. The announcement on the commencement of group proceedings shall inform about the factual basis of the claims being pursued. A potential group member shall determine whether the factual basis of the pursued claims are identical with or similar to the factual basis of their own claim.

The Regional Court in Warsaw 24^th Civil Division in the following ruling bench:

Monika Dominiak, Regional Court Judge

Barbara Budzianowska, Regional Court Judge

Urszula Idzikowska, Regional Court Judge

having examined on 15th September 2016 in Warsaw at the hearing in camera in the case filed by the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in S. – the group representative against (…) S.A. with its registered office in W. for the establishment of the defendant’s liability,

hereby decides to

1. reverse the decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 24^th Civil Division of 9^th June 2016, file ref. no. XXIV C 500/14;
2. make the announcement on the commencement of group proceedings at the cost of the State Treasury with the following content:

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF GROUP PROCEEDINGS

‘Under the Act of 17 December 2009 on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings (Journal of Laws from 2010, No 7, item 44), group proceedings initiated by the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in S. acting as a group representative against (…) S.A. with its registered office in W., file ref. no. XXIV C 500/14 commenced before the Regional Court in Warsaw, 24^th Civil Division. The group currently consists of 71 members. The value of the object of the dispute is PLN 3,197,972.38

The Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in S. as a group representative, motioned for:

1) establishment by the Court that the following general terms of life insurance contracts concluded with the insurance capital fund are unfair contractual terms (…),

2) establishment that if the life insurance contracts concluded by (…) S.A. with group members are terminated before the end of the period of insurance for any reason other than death, the (…) S.A. is obligated to pay the group members the amount of (…).

Each person who jointly fulfilled the following conditions:

(…)

is entitled to join the group by filing a written declaration on joining the group within the non-extendable period of two months as of the date of notification of that announcement and by submitting the declaration to the group representative – the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in S., to the address of his attorneys –A. L., legal counsel, or D. K., legal counsel (…) s.c., ul. (…), (…)-(…) W.

After the lapse of the abovementioned deadline, joining the group will be inadmissible.