Case law > Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 2nd Civil Division of 23rd October 2015

Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 2nd Civil Division of 23rd October 2015
II C 269/15

The decision was reversed by the Court of Appeals in Warsaw 1st Civil Division on 10th March 2016, file ref. no. I ACz 91/16 as follows: the Court decides to hear the case in group proceedings.

  1. Group proceedings procedure was established for cases with significantly approximate factual statuses. The level of similarity should be such that all the circumstances essential for settlement in the case are similar if not outright identical.
  2. In order to provide efficiency of the group proceedings, such proceedings must be based on the similar factual circumstances. This similarity should take into account the possibly identical assessment in context of a settlement as to the merits. Hence, no differences may exist which would expressly differentiate this assessment in reference to each member of the group. This applies to all factual circumstances concretising the hypothesis of the applicable legal norm.
  3. In group proceedings, the court decides on admissibility of the action in the form in which it was brought before the court and he court has no power to modify the statement of claims even if by selection of the particular elements fit to be examined in group proceedings and rejection of the remaining ones. Hence, it is the statement of claims in the form lodged with the court that is assumed to be the object of the assessment, obviously with taking into account actions related to supplementing formal defects.
  4. The group proceedings are a specific kind of civil proceedings. The inadmissibility of group proceedings does not preclude the possibility of pursuing a claim in ordinary civil proceedings. The inadmissibility only signifies an impossibility of hearing a case under provisions of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings while pursuing claims in group proceedings could be more convenient for the parties to the dispute. It, however, does not in any way preclude access to justice or breach the rights stemming from the Constitution or international law.

The Regional Court on Warsaw 2nd Civil Division, in the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge : Tomasz Wojciechowski, Regional Court Judge (rapporteur)

Judges:                   Sylwia Urbańska, Regional Court Judge; Katarzyna Waseńczuk, Regional Court Judge

having examined on the 9th October 2015 in Warsaw at the hearing the case filed by the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in the City Hall of the City of S. acting as a group representative of the group consisting of (names of group members) against (…) joint stock company in W. for ascertainment

decides to

  1. reject the statement of claims;
  2. award from the City of S. to (…) joint stock company in W. the amount of PLN 7,217.00 as the return of the cost of the proceedings.