Civil law and court cases have their own rules. As a court attorney with many years of experience, I offer my help not only to entrepreneurs, but also to individuals who need help and support in court. At the same time, I decided to edit this page to present the most important issues related to civil law and prepare my potential clients for the battle.
First of all, I would like to point out one thing. Even though being a lawyer is my profession, I am not a fan of court disputes. I definitely prefer to solve problems between the conflicting parties amicably and pre-trial. My experience shows that this is the best solution to the situation – we avoid significant costs, we settle the matter almost immediately, and we are independent from many years of court proceedings. Sometimes, of course, it is impossible to reach an agreement (such as in Swiss franc cases with banks) and you have to fight in court.
The scope of services in civil law, civil disputes and all types of court matters includes:
For everyone who is looking for a court lawyer and a civil law lawyer, I have a few tips. From my experience, I can say that success in a civil case is the result of several important qualities of a lawyer:
How would you, as a client, recognize all of these qualities in an attorney before assigning a case? Well… I can’t evaluate this anymore and suggest actions. My clients usually entrust me with cases after a meeting at my office, where we assess each other whether we have a chance for fruitful and beneficial cooperation.
Court costs in civil cases are regulated by an act that is named exactly like that. The costs of the process consist of several elements.
First of all, we have fees. Fees are collected in particular for a lawsuit, appeal, complaint, cassation complaint and other documents submitted to initiate proceedings. What are the costs of individual cases? It is difficult to find a universal rule here, because there may be exceptions to each of them. For example, in cases involving property rights (e.g. payment), the fee is 5% of the value of the subject of the dispute. Unless the value of the subject matter of the dispute is below PLN 20,000 or the case is above PLN 20,000 but you are filing a lawsuit against the bank as a consumer… It is best to check the amount of the fee or seek the help of a lawyer before submitting the letter. You can also simply not pay the fee and wait for the court to summon you…
Next we have expenses. Expenses include mediation costs, witness travel costs, expert work costs, etc. Note – the court may require you, as the party submitting a given piece of evidence (e.g. evidence from a witness hearing), to make an advance payment for a given expense.
Finally, we have the costs of legal representation. These are the other side’s attorney’s fees that the losing side will have to pay to the winning side. If a given party loses the dispute in part, the costs will be awarded proportionally. This is the general rule, to which there are exceptions. How much are the other party’s attorney fees? Again… it depends. Depending on the type of case, the value of the subject matter of the dispute… Information on the amount of costs can be found in the regulation on attorney’s fees.
Do you already know why I think that reaching an agreement before the trial is a better solution for you? One consolation is that most of these costs are borne by the party only after the judgment becomes final. And, in addition, you can take advantage of sick leave.
In civil cases, in accordance with the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases, a party may apply for exemption from costs at any stage of the case, also before filing a lawsuit. According to the rules:
An individual may request exemption from court costs if he or she submits a declaration showing that he or she is unable to pay them without prejudice to the maintenance necessary for himself and his family or that incurring them would expose him to such harm.
Together with the application, you must submit a declaration on your family status, assets, income and sources of support, according to the template. The court will decide whether you will be released. A legal person may also apply for exemption. She, in turn, must demonstrate that she does not have sufficient funds to pay them.
Note – exemption from costs does not automatically mean exemption from legal representation costs. This means that if you fail, you will have to reimburse the other party for their attorney’s fees. However, as I mentioned, there are exceptions to this rule.
Civil cases for payment have their own rules and are quite specific. If money is involved, be sure that the other party will do everything to win…
Regardless of the type of case – whether it is a simple case of non-payment of an invoice, a case for compensation, or a case for the return of undue benefits, an additional rule always applies in these cases. If you are the plaintiff, i.e. you are demanding payment, in addition to demonstrating the validity of your claim, you must also prove its amount. This thing is most often forgotten by people who fight in court on their own, without the help of a lawyer. There is no problem when it comes to paying the remuneration under the contract. The problem, however, arises when there is no such agreement and the other party questions the amount of the requested amount…
Even though my law office is located in Gdynia, I serve clients from all over Poland. Do you want to entrust me with your court case? Civil law is a foreign subject to you and you need advice? Please feel free to contact me.