Success in the case regarding investor’s liability

News / 27.12.2016

In a judgment dated September 29, 2016. The Regional Court in Warsaw dismissed in its entirety the claim brought against the Law Firm’s Client for payment of more than PLN 500 thousand. The court did not agree with the position of the plaintiff, who in the course of the trial tried to prove the liability of our Client (the investor) to him for obligations not paid by the other defendant (the contractor for construction work performed on behalf of the investor). The plaintiff tried to base its claims on several different legal grounds: those arising from the investor’s liability to the construction subcontractor, unjust enrichment, and suretyship. None of them was accepted.

The court correctly assumed that the plaintiff could not be considered a subcontractor of construction work, since it merely delivered certain construction materials to the site, without simultaneously performing construction or installation work. Thus, the Court agreed with the current leading line of the Supreme Court, which treats liability under Article 6471 of the Civil Code very restrictively, limiting it to liability to the entity actually performing a certain amount of work on the construction site.

Also, the Court found the other grounds on which the plaintiff based its claims to be incorrect and not proven at trial. The Court also found that the defendant’s attorney contributed to the final outcome of the case in favor of the defendant by formulating extensive legal arguments during the trial, which the Court overwhelmingly shared in its oral reasons for the decision.