Judgment of the District Court of Szczecin, 1st Civil Division, dated December 21, 2021
I C 990/18

1. However, the application of Article 417 of the Civil Code, as in effect prior to September 1, 2004, must take into account the Constitutional Court’s judgment of December 4, 2001, SK 18/00 (OTK 2001, No. 8, item 256), which ruled that Article 418 of the Civil Code is incompatible with Article 77(1) of the Polish Constitution, and that Article 417 of the Civil Code, understood to mean that the State Treasury is liable for damage caused by the unlawful action of a state official in performing an act entrusted to him, is compatible with Article 77(1) of the Polish Constitution. The underlying premise of this judgment was that the indicated provision of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland establishes a norm that ensures everyone’s right to compensation for damage caused by the unlawful action of a public authority. However, the content of Article 77(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland is so vague that it does not provide a basis for deriving civil law claims from it. Therefore, it is reasonable to indicate Article 417 of the Civil Code in conjunction with Article 77 of the Polish Constitution as the legal basis.
2. The compensation claim that arises on the part of shareholders in the event of loss of share value due to bankruptcy is a lucrum cessans type of compensation claim, i.e. compensation for loss of the right to dividends. Shareholders, as a result of the bankruptcy (and consequently, during the bankruptcy proceedings), have (theoretically) lost their right to dividends. By contrast, the loss of share value is de facto damage to the company, not to the shareholders. The legal construction of the joint-stock company and the resulting indirect participation of the shareholder in its activities thus determine, among other things, that the damage caused to the company cannot at the same time be considered a damage suffered by the shareholder.

The District Court in Szczecin, 1st Civil Division, composed of:

Presiding Judge:           SSO Joanna Kitlowska-Moroz

having recognized on December 21, 2021 in Szczecin at a closed session in group proceedings

the case of the action of K. P. (1) against (…) for payment

1. dismisses the claim;
2. refrains from charging the plaintiff with the costs of legal representation due to the defendant;
3. charges the plaintiff with 100% of the unpaid court costs, leaving their detailed settlement to the court registrar.