Płock group proceedings
The action is connected to the public authority’s negligence and omission in the scope of flood protection which resulted in the breaking of the levee in the locality of Świniary, commune of Słubice, and subsequently two waves of flooding of the adjacent Dolina Iłowsko-Dobrzykowska area.
Parties to the Proceedings
The class action was initiated to the statement of claims filed by Ms. Wanda Smożewska, acting in the capacity of the group representative, against the State Treasury – the Voivode of the Mazowieckie Province, the State Treasury – the Head of the Regional Water Management Authority in Warsaw (which after the entry into force on 1 January 2018 of the Act of 20 July 2017 the Water Law, Journal of Laws no. 1566 as amended, was replaced by the State Treasury – the National Water Management Authority), the Mazowieckie Province and the Poviat of Płock (hereinafter: “Defendants”).
Presently, the group counts 28 members.
The Object of the Proceedings
The class action was limited to the demand for establishment of the Defendants’ joint and several liability towards the members of the group arising out of the Defendants’ tort, consisting in exercising public authority in the scope of flood protection within the territory of the Defendants’ competence in a manner non-compliant with the law, the negligence and omissions of which jointly resulted in the breaking of the levee located on the left bank of the Vistula, 611th km of the Vistula River, in the locality of Świniary, commune of Słubice, Poviat of Płock, and subsequently two waves of flooding – in May and June 2010 – of the area located on the left bank of the Vistula in the Dolina Iłowsko-Dobrzykowska area.
Course of the Proceedings
1. The class action was filed on 2 May 2012.
2. On 15 March 2013, having found that the case meets the prerequisites qualifying it to be heard in the mode of the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings, the Regional Court in Płock, 1st Civil Division rendered a decision on hearing the case in group proceedings. The decision of 15 March 2013 was contested by all the Defendants. By virtue of the decision of 3 December 2013, file ref. no. ACz 781/13, the Court of Appeals in Lodz, 1st Civil Division, dismissed Defendants’ complaints, and thus the decision on hearing the case in group proceedings became valid and final.
3. On 1 April 2014, an announcement on the commencement of a class action in the case to file ref. no. I C 863/12 was published in the Tygodnik Płocki weekly. Within the set deadline of 3 months as of the date of publication of the announcement, the group was joined by further parties whose claim qualified to be included within the group proceedings.
4. In the letter of 17 July 2014, the Claimant presented the final group member list. The Defendants did not contest the membership of individuals within the group.
5. On 13 November 2014, the Regional Court in Płock, 1st Civil Division rendered a decision on the composition of the group, establishing that the group comprises all the persons indicated by the Claimant. All 28 persons were awarded group member status. The Court’s rendering of the decision on the establishment of the group’s composition concluded the second phase of the group proceedings, i.e. the formation of the group.
6. Subsequently, on 11 December 2014, the Regional Court in Płock, 1st Civil Division rendered a decision by virtue of which it bound the Claimant to submit a deposit for the securing of the costs of the group proceedings in the amount of PLN 43,200 to be paid within two months. This decision was contested by the Claimant’s complaint. By virtue of the decision of 15 January 2015, the Regional Court in Płock, 1st Civil Division stayed the enforcement of the decision of 11 December 2014 until the complaint was heard. By virtue of the decision of 26 February 2017, the Court of Appeals in Lodz, 1st Civil Division dismissed the Claimant’s complaint.
7. Upon the payment of the deposit by the Claimant, the Court proceeded to examine the merits of the case. In the frames of the third phase of the group proceedings, on eight hearing dates (18 June 2015, 17 July 2015, 15 October 2015, 14 January 2016, 10 March 2016, 28 September 2017, 22 February 2018, 9 April 2018), witnesses, group members, and Defendants’ representatives were questioned. The court also heard evidence from the expert opinion (an institute and a number of evidence from documents).
8. At the hearing on 9 April 2018, the Court concluded the proceedings in the case, heard the parties’ final addresses, and adjourned the announcement of the verdict. On 23 April 2018, the Court rendered the verdict concluding the proceedings in 1st instance, in which:
a. it established that the Defendant State Treasury – the Governor of the Mazowieckie Province, the National Water Management Authority, and the Mazowieckie Province bear joint and several liability towards the members of the group arising out of the Defendants’ tort, consisting in exercising public authority in the scope of flood protection within the territory of Defendants’ competence in a manner non-compliant with the law, the negligence and omissions of which jointly resulted in the breaking of the levee located on the left bank of the Vistula, 611th km of the Vistula, in the locality of Świniary, commune of Słubice, Poviat of Płock, in the Mazowieckie Province on 23 May 2010, and subsequently two waves of flooding – in May and June 2010 – of the area located on the left bank of the Vistula in the Dolina Iłowsko-Dobrzykowska area;
and
b. dismissed the action against the Poviat of Płock.
Status of the Case
On 23 April 2018, the Court of first instance rendered a verdict establishing the compensatory liability of state agencies towards the members of the group arising out of the so-called public authority tort. The verdict is not final.