Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw, 1st Civil Division, dated 23rd October 2012
I C 132/12
The Regional Court in Warsaw, 1st Civil Division, composed of:
Presiding Judge: Alicja Fronczyk, Regional Court Judge
Judges: Bożena Jaskuła, Regional Court Judge;
Jacek Bajak, Regional Court Judge
having recognized on 23rd October 2012 in Warsaw, at a session in camera, the case filed by B. C. – representative of the group acting for [data of 41 group members] against the State Treasury represented by the Minister of Health for determination,
decides to:
- order an announcement in the newspaper (…) about the commencement of group proceedings, with the following content: “Before the Regional Court of Warsaw, 1st Civil Division, proceedings are pending initiated by the lawsuit of B. C. as a representative of a group consisting of: [details of 41 group members] against the State Treasury represented by the Minister of Health, the object of which is to establish the liability of the defendant for damage caused to the members of the group by a tort, consisting of the enactment of unlawful normative acts of fundamental rank, in the form of the Ordinance of the Minister of Health of 2nd February 2009 on the Criteria for the Classification of Medicinal Products, Which May Be Authorized for Marketing in Non-Pharmacy Outlets and Pharmacy Points, in the wording established by the Ordinance of the Minister of Health of 11th September 2009, and the Ordinance of the Minister of Health of 6th October 2009 on the List of Medicinal Products Which May Be Authorized for Marketing in Non-pharmacy Outlets and Pharmacy Points – i.e. in the period from 21st September 2009 to the date of termination of the binding force of the above-mentioned normative acts. The damage consists of a reduction in business income as a result of the narrowing of the list of drugs that could be traded in pharmacy outlets compared to the period before the introduction of the indicated regulations. The legal basis for the claim is the provisions of the Act of 23rd April 1964 Civil Code (Journal of Laws 1964.16.93, as amended), which regulate the State Treasury’s liability for tort (Article 417 (1) § 1 of the Civil Code).
The group may be joined by persons who wish to pursue a claim of the same type as those indicated above, based on the same or similar factual basis, by submitting to the group’s representative, within three months from the date of the announcement, a written statement on joining the group. The remuneration payable to the attorney shall include: 1) the amount of PLN 600 from each member of the group, which shall be transferred to him by the Chamber of Commerce (…) out of the amount of PLN 1,500 to be paid to this entity by each person intending to join the group, as a fee payable in advance for the preparation of the group action and the conduct of the group proceedings, 2) additional financial remuneration, from the costs of the proceedings, the reimbursement of which shall be legally awarded to the plaintiff, within the limits of this award, but not more than PLN 900 from each member of the group. The attorney’s fee covers the conduct of the main proceedings and any bump-up proceedings within one full course of instances (one main proceeding and related bump-up proceedings in the first instance, one main proceeding and related bump-up proceedings in the second instance, and one main proceeding and related bump-up proceedings before the Supreme Court). If the proceedings go beyond the above-mentioned framework, the parties shall separately determine the amount of additional fees in accordance with the expected workload. The attorney shall not undertake to pay or bear any responsibility for the payment of any costs related to the proceedings and shall not be liable for the negative consequences of failure to pay court costs on time. A final judgment has a binding effect on all group members. Persons who wish to join the proceedings in question are requested to send an application to the group representative through his attorney, i.e. to: “legal counsel T. J., S.D. O. Law Office LP, (…), (…)-(…) W.”;
- order the plaintiff to pay (to the Cashier of the Regional Court in Warsaw) the amount of PLN 3,000 (three thousand zlotys), as an advance for the costs of the announcement of the commencement of group proceedings, within 2 weeks.
