Order of the District Court of Warsaw, XXV Civil Division, dated May 25, 2018
XXV C 884/18

District Court in Warsaw XXV Civil Division composed of:

Presiding Judge: SSO Anna Blażejczyk

Judges:                 SSO Dorota Kalata, SSO Paweł Duda

Having recognized on May 25, 2018 in Warsaw, at a closed session, the case of a class action brought by the District Consumer Advocate in S. against (…) S.A. with its seat in W. for determination,

decides:

Order the announcement of the commencement of class proceedings in the present case in the daily newspaper “(…)” with the following content:

“Before the District Court in Warsaw, XXV Civil Division, in the case ref. no. XXV C 884/18, group proceedings were initiated under the Act of December 17, 2009 on the enforcement of claims in group proceedings (Journal of Laws of 2010 No. 7, item 44) with the action of the District Consumer Protection Ombudsman in S. as the representative of the group against (…) S.A. with its seat in W.

The District Consumer Protection Ombudsman in S., as representative of the class, requested that the liability of the defendant (…) S.A., headquartered in W., be established with respect to damages suffered by class members due to the defendant’s practice of violating the collective interests of consumers by:

1. failing to provide consumers interested in purchasing real estate in the (…) hotel construction project in O. offered through (…) S.A., with reliable and complete information regarding the risks associated with investing money under the described product, and displaying only the benefits of investing in the purchase of the real estate in question
2. Misleading consumers about the availability of units in the investment in question by informing them that there were only a few units left for sale, when in fact the number of available units was much greater, thus causing pressure on the consumer and forcing him to make a quick decision that he would not otherwise have made;
3. Withholding or failing to clearly communicate information regarding the offered product regarding the current status of the investment and any risks associated with the purchase of the product causing or likely to cause the consumer to make a decision he would not have otherwise made,
4. claiming that the product in question would only be available for a very limited time or that it would be available under certain conditions for a very limited time while this was untrue and intended to induce the consumer to make an immediate decision regarding the purchase of the product and depriving him of the opportunity to make an informed product choice

Any person whose claim may be covered by this class action may join this case by submitting a written statement of joining the class within a maximum period of three months from the date of publication of this notice and sending it to the representative of the class – the District Consumer Advocate in S. (address for service: legal counsel A. B., Kancelaria Radcy Prawnego, ul. (…), (…)-(…) G.).

Joining the group after the above deadline is inadmissible.

Submission of a declaration to join the class is tantamount to consenting to the District Consumer Advocate in S. acting as a representative of the class and to the rules of remuneration of the plaintiff’s attorney.

The rules of plaintiff’s attorney’s fees are set as follows:

Remuneration for actions taken by the attorney before the court of first instance, the prosecutor’s office and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection shall be determined in an amount depending on the amount of the claim of each member of the group in accordance with the following scheme:

1. at the height of the claim up to PLN 100,000- PLN 7,200 net + 23% VAT- a total of PLN 8,856 gross;
2. at the height of the claim from PLN 100,001.00 to PLN 200,000- PLN 14,400 net + 23% VAT- a total of PLN 17,712 gross;
3. at the height of the claim from PLN 200,001 to PLN 300,000- PLN 21,600 net + 23% VAT- a total of 26. 568 PLN gross;
4. at the amount of the claim from 300.001 PLN to 400.000 PLN- 28.800 PLN net + 23% VAT- total 35.424 PLN gross

remuneration will be increased by 7.200 PLN net + 23% VAT- total 8.856 PLN gross for each 100.000 PLN of the claim exceeding the amount of 400.000 PLN.

The law firm and the class member provide for the possibility of determining additional remuneration in the form of a success bonus in an amount not exceeding 20% of the amount of the class member’s claim.

The final judgment shall have effect against all class members, i.e., persons who, before the expiration of the period specified in this announcement, send a signed declaration of joining the class and are included in the court order determining the composition of the class.