Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw, 25th Civil Division, dated December 18, 2018
XXV C 843/17

The Regional Court in Warsaw, 25th Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSO Piotr Bednarczyk

Judges:                 SSO Anna Błażejczyk, SSO Paweł Duda

having examined on December 18, 2018, in Warsaw, at a closed session, the case brought by M. P. as representative of the group against Bank (…) S.A. with its registered office in W. (…) Bank (…) in C. Bank (…) in S. W. Bank (…) with its registered office in J. for a determination,

decides:

1. to order the announcement of the initiation of group proceedings;
2. to give the announcement of the initiation of group proceedings the following content:

Before the Regional Court in Warsaw, 25th Civil Division, class action proceedings were initiated pursuant to the Act of December 17, 2009 on pursuing claims in class action proceedings (Journal of Laws of 2010, No. 7, item 44) on the basis of a claim brought by M. P. against Bank (…) S.A. with its registered office in W., (…) Bank (…) in C., Bank (…) in S. and W. Bank (…) with its registered office in J., pending under file reference number XXV C 843/17.

M. P., as the representative of the group, requested that the defendant Banks be held jointly and severally liable for the damage caused to the claimant and the members of the group in connection with the conclusion of a contract in violation of the provisions of the Act of August 29, 1997 – Banking Law in the scope of determining creditworthiness:

1. by (…) Bank (…) in C. in the case of loan agreement No. (…) of September 18, 2013, and loan agreement No. (…) of May 28, 2014,
2. by Bank (…) in S. in the case of loan agreement no. (…) of 19 March 2014, amended by Annex no. (…) of 14 May 2014, and then by Annex no. (…) of 14 August 2015,
3. by Bank (…) S.A. with its registered office in W.,
4. and W. Bank (…) with its registered office in J. in the case of loan agreement No. (…) of October 25, 2011, constituting an integral part of bank consortium agreement No. (…) of October 25, 2011,

concluded with I. S., conducting business activity under the name (…) in liquidation bankruptcy, which led to an excessive burden on the assets of I. S. and prevented him from settling his previously incurred liabilities towards the purchasers of holiday and residential premises in the Hotel (…) in O..

Any person whose claim may be covered by this class action may join the case by submitting a written statement of joining the group within a strict deadline of two months from the date of publication of this announcement and sending it to the group representative – M. P., to the address of his legal representative, legal advisor V. P., Legal Advisor’s Office, ul. (…) (…)-(…) K..

Joining the group after the above deadline is not permitted.

Submitting a statement of joining the group is tantamount to consenting to M. P. acting as the group’s representative and to the rules of remuneration of the representative.

The rules for the remuneration of the representative, as current remuneration and for the so-called (…) are specified in the agreement of February 16, 2017, for the provision of legal assistance and are as follows:

A. Current remuneration:

• for the first instance, PLN 1,845 gross from each member of the group, payable within 7 days of signing the Agreement,
• for the second instance, PLN 922.50 gross from each member of the group, payable to the Law Firm within 7 days of filing the appeal or response to the appeal,
• for proceedings before the Supreme Court, PLN 922.50 gross from each member of the group, payable within 7 days of filing the cassation appeal or response to the cassation appeal;

B. remuneration for “Success” – 10% of the value actually obtained (enforced) in the course of or as a result of the proceedings, including through the conclusion of a settlement by a given member of the group. The amount calculated in this way includes VAT at the rate applicable on the date of issue of the invoice.

C. The announcement referred to in points 1 and 2 shall be published in the newspaper (…) – Announcements page.