Group proceedings (class action), like any other civil case, involve court costs. However, these proceedings are subject to special (lower) court fees and there function specific rules regarding the allocation of costs between the parties and members of the group.
The class action court fees have changed as a result of the Amendment No. 2 of 2019, which also introduced changes to the Act of the 28th July 2005 on Court Costs in Civil Cases. After the 21st August 2019, in cases concerning property rights pursued in group proceedings, a half of the fee determined basing on the provisions regulating the amount of fees in the ‘regular’ civil proceedings must be paid, but not less than PLN 100.00 and not more than PLN 200,000.00. In cases concerning the protection of non-property rights pursued in class action proceedings, a fixed fee of PLN 600.00 applies.
It seems that until the final composition of the group is determined (see: What is the course of group proceedings?), it is not possible to determine the value of the subject matter of the dispute in group proceedings, as the composition of the group, and thus the amount or value of the claims pursued, is variable. Until the composition of the group is determined, the court in group proceedings in property rights cases should therefore apply a so-called provisional fee (ranging from PLN 300.00 to PLN 20,000.00). This applies in particular to the filing fee. In such a case, only in the judgment concluding the proceedings in a given instance does the court determine the final fee, which will be set in accordance with the rules indicated above (half of the fee due in a ‘regular’ case).
In addition to court fees (including those filing fee for the statement of claim, complaints, and appeals), other court costs may also arise during the proceedings, such as the costs of announcing the commencement of group proceedings or the costs of obtaining expert evidence (if such a request for evidence is made). During the proceedings, the court calls on the party to pay an advance for such expenses, in an amount determined by the court, while the final amount of the costs of the proceedings is determined only in the judgment concluding the proceedings in the case. The amount of costs incurred in the course of the proceedings will depend on the nature and subject matter of the dispute.
The legislator has introduced an exemption from court costs in cases where the action is brought by the Financial Ombudsman or an authorized entity.
Furthermore, the Class Action Act provides that at the request of the defendant, which should be made at the first procedural step, the court may order the representative of the group to deposit a security for the costs of the proceedings, but only if the defendant proves that the claim is unfounded and that the lack of a deposit, in the event of the claim being dismissed, would prevent or seriously impede the defendant from enforcing the judgment on the costs of the proceedings. The amount of the deposit is determined by the court, but it may not exceed 20% of the value of the subject matter of the dispute. If the deposit is not paid within the time limit set by the court, the court shall suspend the proceedings, and if the deposit is not paid within an additional 3-month period, it shall dismiss the claim (or appeal). An appeal may be lodged against the decision to suspend the proceedings.
If the plaintiff is the Financial Ombudsman or an authorized entity, the provisions on security deposits do not apply.
The plaintiff, i.e. the representative of the group or an authorized entity, is formally obliged to pay the court costs.
If the plaintiff is a representative of the group, the Class Action Act does not specify the ratio in which the group members participate in these costs. This should be regulated by internal agreements between the group members and the representative. Usually, the share of individual court costs attributable to a given group member should depend on the amount of the claim pursued by that member in the group proceedings (in proportion to the total amount of all claims pursued).
However, the Class Action Act clearly states that a member of the group does not bear the costs of proceedings in which the Financial Ombudsman is the plaintiff (representative of the group).
Furthermore, the Class Action Act clearly regulates the rules for the possible bearing of costs by group members in cases involving claims related to practices that violate the general interests of consumers. In such cases, the only cost that a consumer may incur is the fee for joining the group, which may be charged by an authorized entity on terms agreed with the group members. The fee may not exceed 5% of the value of the monetary claim pursued by the group member, but may not exceed PLN 2,000, and in the case of a non-monetary claim, the amount of the fee may not exceed PLN 1,000. Fees may not be charged by the Financial Ombudsman acting as an authorized entity.
Furthermore, in group proceedings, just like in any other civil case, losing the case generally results in an obligation to reimburse the other party for the costs of the proceedings. If the claim is dismissed or the class action is rejected, the plaintiff (the representative of the group or the authorized entity) may therefore be required to reimburse the defendant for the costs incurred (including the costs of representation by a professional attorney).
The remuneration of the attorney representing the plaintiff in group proceedings is specified in the attorney-client agreement concluded by the plaintiff. The Class Action Act allows the attorney to stipulate a so-called success fee, i.e. remuneration the amount of which depends on the amount adjudicated to the plaintiff (and members of the group) as a result of winning the case. However, such a remuneration may not exceed the equivalent of 20% of the amounts awarded to the plaintiff.