Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 1st Civil Division of 7th September 2018

Written by

Decision reversed in part and amended in part by decision of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw of 11th April 2019, I ACz 182/19.

  1. The Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings does not contain regulations concerning entities wishing to join a group in the period between the filing of a statement of claims and the publication of a press announcement on the commencement of group proceedings. There are no grounds to claim that it is not possible to submit a declaration on joining the group in the period indicated, as the provisions of the Act do not explicitly prohibit this, but also explicitly do not permit the situation in question. However, it should be pointed out that those individuals must comply with the prerequisites laid down in the decision ordering the announcement and the announcement in the press, since a declaration by entities wishing to join a group must, de facto, be made after the announcement has been made.

The decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division of 6th July 2018

Written by

The Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:            Tomasz Gal Regional Court Judge

At the hearing in camera on 6th July 2018 in Warsaw in the case proceeded in class action proceedings started by the group representative Consumer Ombudsman in County (…) against (…) joint stock company with registered office in W. for payment regarding the Defendant’s (…) joint stock company with registered office in W. complaint against the decision of 11th May 2018.

decided:

  1. to reject the Defendant’s (…) joint stock company with registered office in W. complaint against the decision of 11th May 2018.

Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 26th Commercial Division on 14th May 2018

Written by

  1. At the preliminary stage of the case, merely the circumstances which justify (or not) the examination of the case in the group proceedings, are significant for the court. The verification of the facts indicated in the lawsuit, as facts justifying acceptance of the claim, will always be the object of the evidentiary hearings at the stage of the substantive examination of the case.
  2. For the purposes of the preliminary assessment of the admissibility of the group proceedings, the facts provided by the plaintiff are binding for the court. It is assumed that the assessment of the nature of the case takes place within the framework of the claim indicated by the plaintiff and facts provided by it. These circumstances concretize the legal relationship between the parties, shape the nature of the case and thus decide whether the case is a civil case or not.

The Regional Court in Warsaw 26th Commercial Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:            Karolina Toczyńska, Regional Court Judge (rapporteur)

Judges:                            Agnieszka Owczarewicz, Regional Court Judge

Anna Hrycaj, Regional Court Judge

having examined on 14th May 2018 in Warsaw at the hearing in camera the group action filed by T. G. acting as a group representative against (…) spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością in W., K. A., P. J. (1) for payment,

decides to

examine the case in group proceedings.

The decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division of 11th May 2018

Written by

The Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:            Anna Pogorzelska Regional Court Judge

Judges:                            Krystyna Stawecka Regional Court Judge,

Anna Ogińska-Łągiewka delegated District Court Judge

Having examined on 11th May 2018 in Warsaw, at the hearing in camera the case filed in class action proceedings by the group representative Consumer Ombudsman in County (…) against (…) joint stock company with registered office in W. for payment regarding the defendant’s objection against the value of the dispute

decided:

  1. under Article 25 § 1 and § 2 Polish Code of Civil Procedure to check the value of the dispute and establish it in the amount of PLN 2,420,027.08 two millions four hundred twenty thousand seven 8/100).

Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division of 11th May 2018

Written by

The Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:            Anna Pogorzelska, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                            Krystyna Stawecka, Regional Court Judge,

Anna Ogińska-Łągiewka, District Court Judge (delegated)

having examined on 11th May 2018 in Warsaw the case filed in group proceedings by the group representative District Consumer Ombudsman in Poviat (…) against (…) S.A. with its registered office in W. for payment,

decides to:

  1. order the information about the commencement of the group proceedings to be published;
  2. to publish the announcement on the commencement of the group proceedings with the following content:

Poviat under the Act of 17 December 2009 on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings, group proceedings against (…) joint stock company in W. were initiated before the Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division to case file no. XXV C 461/18 by the District Consumer Ombudsman in the Poviat of (…).

The District Consumer Ombudsman in the Poviat of (…) acting as the group representative motioned for awarding from the defendant (…) joint stock company the return of amounts equalling the benefit obtained by defendant (…) joint stock company without a legal basis through the performance of invalid acts in law – invalid declarations of intent made by the group members to the defendant. The group members declared their willingness to make use of the provision stipulating insurance protection care and invalid life insurance and endowment contracts with insurance capital funds (‘main claim’) to their benefit. At the same time, should the statements of claim be dismissed on the above indicated grounds, the group representative initiated a legal action for ordering defendant (…) joint stock company to reimburse the group members for the amounts collected by defendant (…) joint stock company from them without legal grounds under abusive clauses. Such abusive clauses indicated that in the event of resignation from the insurance (…) joint stock company would pay only the redemption value, i.e. the part of the amount on the account. The group representative also initiated a legal action for the return the payments made by the group members without legal grounds as the administrative fee under abusive clauses by (…) Życie S.A.

Each party whose claim may be included within these group proceedings may join the case by submitting a written declaration of the intent to join the group. Such a declaration should be made within the 2 months deadline as of the date of publication of this announcement and submitted to the group representative – Consumer Ombudsman in the Poviat of (…).

Joining the group after above indicated time is inadmissible.

The declaration on joining the group should be deemed equivalent to granting the consent for the Consumer Ombudsman in Poviat (…) to act as a group representative and to the legal fees payment rules indicated below.

(…) [legal fees calculation details]

  1. The announcement indicated in point 1 and 2 shall be published in the Rzeczpospolita daily in the Announcements section – size 81 mm x 204.8 mm.

Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division of 11th May 2018

Written by

  1. Introducing a regulation to group proceedings regarding a deposit to secure the costs of the proceedings should guarantee the defendant a return of the incurred costs by the claimant. Such a regulation guarantees the protection of the defendant’s interest against unfounded statements of claim. Regardless of the optional function of the deposit to secure the costs of the proceedings, this institution constitutes a significant limitation of the claimant’s freedom to start group proceedings. Therefore, the claimant’s obligation to make a deposit to secure the costs of the proceedings should be deemed a factor limiting the possibility of the recourse to pursuing claims in group proceedings.
  2. It is the defendant’s duty to indicate and demonstrate the facts which substantiate the need to impose an obligation to make a deposit on the claimant.
  3. A motion for the deposit should make plausible that the already initiated legal action is: firstly, obviously unfounded and it is hardly possible that the statement of claims will be accepted i.e. it should be deemed as ‘litigious proceedings’ and secondly, that the lack of the deposit to secure the statement of claim makes the enforcement of the costs of the proceedings from the opposite party difficult or impossible.
  4. The fact that the consumer ombudsman’s acts as a claimant does not preclude the possibility to enforce the costs of the proceedings by the opposite party.
  5. If the court dismisses a claim and awards the costs of the proceedings from the consumer ombudsman to the defendant, such costs should be deemed as the costs of the legal activity of the consumer ombudsman, including in the budget of poviatthe poviat. Such costs cannot be deemed a contractual obligation incurred by the consumer ombudsman which he would not be poviatliable for without the contract being countersigned by the poviat’s treasurer.

The Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division in the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:            Anna Pogorzelska, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                            Krystyna Stawecka, Regional Court Judge,

Anna Ogińska-Łągiewka, delegated District Court Judge

having examined on 11th May 2018 in Warsaw the case in group proceedings filed by the group representative Consumer Ombudsman in Poviat (…) against (…) S.A. with its registered office in W. for payment regarding the motion to obligate the claimant to make a deposit to secure the costs of the proceedings

hereby decides:

to dismiss the motion.

Judgment of the Regional Court in Warsaw 2nd Civil Division of 23th April 2018

Written by

  1. The charge of limitation raised against some of the members of the group should be resolved in potential future individual proceedings.
  2. The type of possession is therefore determined primarily by the extent of actual power over the item and whether it takes place with the express or implied consent of another person. An autonomous possession may be established where the de facto power over an item has the general characteristics facilitating the establishment of possession and, moreover, consists in the use of the item with the exclusion of other persons and is independent of the express or implied consent of another person, in particular, independent of the owner’s consent.
  3. Litigation against the State Treasury means that where multiple claims are filed, in relation to different organizational units, if even one of them is allowed, in practice, it means winning the trial in its entirety. Such a judgment, once it has become final, acquires the character of an enforcement title, on the basis of which the creditor can satisfy themselves to the same extent as if the claim had been allowed in respect of each of the statio fisci.

Judgement of the Regional Court in Płock 1st Civil Division of 23rd April 2018

Written by

  1. In the Court’s opinion, the requirement to comply with the “principle of sustainable development” concerns both of the indicated issues, i.e. ensures: safety and environmental protection. The social benefits achieved in each of these fields must be at least proportional, socially adequate to the losses incurred while ensuring indicated goals.
  2. The incorrectness of exercising public authority may consist of violations of constitutional rights and freedoms, constitutional rules of public authority operations, requirements set forth in statutes, executive acts (breaches of substantive and procedural law), as well as violations of non-legislative rules connected in different ways with legislative rules. The object of the public authority’s tort may be solely the violation of particular provisions ordering (or prohibiting) specific acts from being performed in a given situation, but not the violation of general aims of broadly understood criminal proceedings, directives and postulates.
  3. In the Court’s opinion, flood protection, ensured among others through the system of prohibitions and orders stipulated in the Water Law, constitutes an imperative interference with individual rights, i.e. it is a form of the exercising public authority, the main element of which is the inequality of the parties. On the other hand, the duties belonging to the so-called dominium area, are only those whose purpose is the use of property by the state while participating in ordinary civil law transactions.

 

The Regional Court in Płock 1st Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding judge:         Agnieszka Bilkiewicz, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                        Joanna Szatkowska, Regional Court Judge, Marta Dunajska, Regional Court Judge

having examined on 9th April 2018 in Płock at the hearing the group action filed by W. S. (1) acting as a representative of the group consisting of [data of 28 group members] against the State Treasury – Voivode (…), State (…), the (…) Voivodeship and the P. Poviat, for the establishment of the defendants’ liability,

decides to

  1. establish the joint and several liability of the State Treasury – Voivode (…), (…) and (…) Voivodeship for damage caused to group members consisting of: [data of 28 group members], resulting from tort of an illegal act committed by the defendants while exercising public authority in scope of flood protection in the area of the defendants’ jurisdiction, which led to the breaking of the flood bank located along the left bank of the W. river, k.m. W. 611, in the town of the Ś., S. commune, P. Poviat, (…) Voivodeship, on 23rd May 2010, and then two floodings of the area located on the left side of the W. river, in the area of D. I. – D. in May and June 2010;
  2. dismiss the action against the P. Poviat
  3. determine the court fee for the action for establishment at PLN 5,000;
  4. order the claimant W. S. (1) to pay the amount of PLN 44,217 (forty four thousand two hundred and seventeen zlotys) to the benefit of defendant the P. Poviat as reimbursement of the costs of the proceedings;
  5. order the defendants: the State Treasury – Voivode (…), State (…) and the (…) Voivodeship to jointly and severally pay the amount of PLN 53,883 (fifty three thousand eight hundred and eighty three zlotys) to the benefit of the claimant W. S. (1) as reimbursement of the costs of the proceedings;
  6. order the defendants: the State Treasury – Voivode (…), State (…) and the (…) Voivodeship to jointly and severally pay the amount of PLN 52,912.75 (fifty two thousand nine hundred and twelve zlotys seventy five groszy) to the benefit of the State Treasury – Regional Court in Płock as reimbursement of the costs of the proceedings.

Judgment of the Regional Court in Gdańsk 15st Civil Division of 26th March 2018

Written by

The justification of this judgment has not been prepared.

The Regional Court in Gdańsk 15st Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding judge:            Urszula Malak, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                            Dorota Kołodziej, Regional Court Judge

Krzysztof Solecki, Regional Court Judge

having examined on 12th March 2018 in Gdańsk at the hearing, the case filled by (…) a representative of the group against (…) for the declaration and payment,

decides to:

  1. declare the Usenet service provision agreements concluded between subgroup no. 1 members indicated below [data of 48 group members] and the defendants who conduct business activity as a general partnership in Sopot to be null and void and declares that the defendants must jointly and severally pay the amount of PLN 94.80 [ninety four PLN 80/100] to each subgroup no. 1 member as the return of undue payment;
  2. declare the Usenet service provision agreements concluded between subgroup no. 3 members indicated below [data of 59 group members] and the defendants who conduct business activity as a general partnership with registered office in Sopot to be null and void;
  3. declare the Usenet service provision agreements concluded between subgroup no. 5 members indicated below [data of 482 group members] and the defendants who conduct business activity as a general partnership with its registered office in Sopot to be null and void;
  4. charge the costs of the proceedings to the defendants, leaving the final calculation thereof to the court clerk.

Decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division of 15th March 2018

Written by

The Regional Court in Warsaw 25th Civil Division with the following ruling bench:

Presiding Judge:            Anna Błażejczyk, Regional Court Judge

Judges:                             Tomasz Gal, Regional Court Judge

 Agnieszka Wlekły-Pietrzak, District Court Judge (delegated)

having examined on 15th March 2018 in Warsaw at the hearing the case in group proceedings filed by the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in City Hall S. (the group representative) against (…) S.A. with its registered office in W. for payment

decides to:

  1. discontinue the proceedings,
  2. charge the unpaid court costs in the amount of PLN 31,764.38 (thirty one thousand seven hundred four PLN and 38/100) to (…) joint stock company with its registered office in W.