Our client wins over 1 million PLN in court case

We are pleased to announce that the Court of Appeals in Katowice has dismissed the defendant’s appeal and upheld the judgment awarding our client the amount of 200,000 euros.

Our client, represented by us, was a company based in Germany. The defendant was a Polish limited liability company. In this case, we pursued claims on behalf of our client arising from sales agreements for electronic devices.

The defendant raised a plea of set-off against the claimed amount with a claim for the payment of a contractual penalty exceeding 1 million PLN. This penalty had been imposed on our client based on a different agreement. Throughout the proceedings, we challenged the legitimacy of the imposed penalty. Initially, we pointed out the legal inadmissibility of the set-off claim being raised in this case against a claim arising from a different legal relationship, in light of Article 203(1) of the Civil Procedure Code.

The defendant argued that if the notice of set-off was submitted before the lawsuit was filed, the claim would extinguish. Consequently, during the trial, there are no restrictions on raising the plea of set-off arising from Article 203(1) of the Civil Procedure Code. In the case, we presented extensive factual and legal arguments supporting our position and rebutting the claims of the opposing party.

Both instances of the courts agreed with us, stating that the defendant’s assertions were unfounded. In particular, the courts endorsed our argument regarding the set-off plea. As indicated in the reasoning of the Court of Appeals in Katowice:

In the current legal state, regardless of whether the notice of set-off was submitted before the proceedings or during the trial, it is subject to examination concerning the conditions outlined in Article 203(1) of the Civil Procedure Code. Therefore, in this case, it was necessary to analyze whether (I) the claim presented for set-off arises from the same legal relationship as the claim pursued by the plaintiff, or whether it is (II) undisputed or (III) supported by documentation not solely originating from the defendant. Due to the defendant’s failure to demonstrate the existence of the above conditions, both instances of the courts deemed the set-off plea inadmissible and thus ineffective.

The judgment of the Court of Appeals in Katowice is a significant success for our client. It also represents another important ruling regarding the limitations on raising the plea of set-off during court proceedings.

Based on the obtained judgment, enforcement of the awarded claim against the defendant’s assets has been initiated.

The client was represented by legal advisor Dominik Bala.