Decision of the District Court of Warsaw, 2nd Civil Division, dated 16th May 2022
II C 225/21
- Claims based on an identical factual basis are claims that are based on the same factual basis (premise sensu stricto) or claims whose material facts are common (premise sensu largo). The existence of insignificant differences between individual bases of claims does not preclude the possibility of asserting claims in this procedure, but it is nevertheless necessary that material facts justify the demand common to all claims. The requirement of the same factual basis for the claims does not mean that all the facts of the case must be identical for each group member, since there will always – even in the case of the same cause of action – be individual circumstances pertaining to individual group members. The condition of an identical factual basis is met when the facts justifying the existence of the specific legal relationship that is the basis of the claims are the same for all group members. “This is not prevented by the existence of other facts that fall within the factual basis of the action, such as the nature of individual claims, their maturity or amount. The essence of group proceedings is commonality manifested in the demand, which must be typical (common) to all claims. The indicated condition means that the legal or factual situation of the members of the group must be the same, while the asserted claim must be of one type (homogeneity of claims), because only then it is possible to make a common claim.”
- From the purposive interpretation of Article 16 Section 1 of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings, it follows that in cases other than those involving monetary claims, plausibility is sufficient to establish a member’s membership in the group.
- Since a demand for a determination of liability is not the same as a demand for an award of benefits, the court must take into account the dissimilarities between these claims and, with this in mind, assess whether the conditions for recognizing an action in group proceedings are met. If, on the other hand, the circumstances of the damage are so different that it would be inappropriate to evaluate them in a group proceeding, the likelihood that such damage occurred should then be considered sufficient.
The Regional Court in Warsaw, 2nd Civil Division, composed of:
Presiding Judge: Eliza Kurkowska, Regional Court Judge (Judge-Rapporteur)
Judges: Katarzyna Waseńczuk, Regional Court Judge;
Sylwia Urbańska, Regional Court Judge
having examined at a hearing on 29th April 2022 in Warsaw a case brought by (…) LLC Limited Partnership with its registered office in W., as a representative of a group consisting of:
W., O. B., J. B., J. Z., (…) registered partnership with its registered office in P., M. M., A. K., (…) limited liability company with its registered office in K., (…) limited liability company with its registered office in S., Ł. G., B. G., D. T., M. C., H. K., M. N., M. O, W. W., M. R., (…) limited liability company with its registered office in W., Z. K., (…) LLC limited partnership with its registered office in W., (…) limited liability company with its registered office in L., (…) LLC limited partnership with its registered office in P.
against the State Treasury – represented by the Council of Ministers represented by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration for determination,
decides to:
- fix the value of the subject matter of the dispute at PLN 5,833,618 (five million eight hundred and thirty-three thousand six hundred and eighteen zlotys);
- set the amount of court fee for the lawsuit at PLN 100,000 (one hundred thousand zlotys);
- oblige the plaintiff’s attorney to pay a supplementary fee on the lawsuit in the amount of PLN 85,000 (eighty-five thousand zlotys), within seven days under pain of a ruling on the obligation to pay it in the decision ending the case in an instance;
- hear the case in group proceedings.
