Case law > Judgment of the Regional Court in Warsaw, 3rd Civil Division, dated 17th February 2020

Judgment of the Regional Court in Warsaw, 3rd Civil Division, dated 17th February 2020
III C 603/15

  1. Article 474 of the Civil Code stipulates that the debtor is liable for his own actions or omissions, so as a rule, when fault can be attributed to third parties (presumed on the basis of Article 471 of the Civil Code) consisting in failure to exercise due diligence (Article 472 of the Civil Code). As a result, this leads to a tightening of the debtor’s liability, which has been shaped in the provision in question on the basis of risk, as a result of which the debtor cannot evade liability by invoking the absence of fault on his part, in particular by pointing out that he exercised due diligence in selecting the person or in supervising the performance of the obligation by that person.
  2. The literature on the subject raises doubts as to whether the defendant will be obliged to reimburse the claimant for the costs of legal representation in the amount specified in Article 5 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings, or the costs of legal representation in the amount resulting from the Regulation of the Minister of Justice of 22nd October 2015 on Fees for the Serices of Legal Consels. Considering that, pursuant to Article 98 § 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the necessary costs of the proceedings of a party represented by an attorney include remuneration, but not higher than the rates specified in separate regulations, the court is of the opinion that it should be assumed that the limit of the defendant’s liability is determined by the provisions of the Regulation of the Minister of Justice of 22nd October 2015 on Fees for the Services of Legal Counsels. The provisions of Article 5 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings do not contain “separate provisions” concerning the rules for reimbursement of litigation costs, and therefore it is not possible on their basis to oblige the defendant to reimburse the plaintiff for litigation costs that significantly exceed the minimum rates of fees for the services of legal counsels.

The Regional Court in Warsaw, 3rd Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge:            Joanna Kruczkowska, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                            Joanna Bitner, Regional Court Judge;

Andrzej Lipiński, District Court Judge (delegated)

having examined on 16th January 2020, in Warsaw, at a hearing, the case brought by A. R. (1) – representative of the group against (…) Union (…) in W. for payment,

  1. awards from (…) Union (…) in W. in favor of all members of the subgroups in this group proceeding the amounts due to each of them – according to the list attached to the judgment;
  2. dismisses the remainder of the claim;
  3. orders (…) Union (…) in W. to bear the entire costs of the proceedings, leaving the detailed calculation of these costs to the court clerk after the judgment becomes final, with the remuneration of the plaintiff’s representative being calculated at twice the minimum rate.