A civil case is largely decided at the very beginning – by what goes into the statement of claim or the statement of defence, which documents are attached and which witnesses are named. The rules increasingly restrict the possibility of "adding" allegations and evidence at a later stage, and in commercial cases late evidence is, as a rule, disregarded. That is why we start every case with a thorough assessment: what the facts and the evidence are, which provisions apply, how long the dispute may take and what it may cost, and whether a settlement might be the more sensible option.
We handle commercial, civil and construction cases – for claimants and defendants, before District Courts (sądy rejonowe), Regional Courts (sądy okręgowe) and Courts of Appeal (sądy apelacyjne) throughout Poland. Below we describe how the proceedings work and what we pay attention to.
How we work with you on a court case
- Review of documents and initial conversation. We ask for contracts, correspondence, invoices, reports and photographs, and if the case is already under way – the statement of claim, payment order or other court documents, together with the envelope or information on the date of service. The date of service is crucial, because deadlines run from it.
- Assessment of prospects and strategy. We tell you which allegations can be proved and which cannot, what the risks are, how long proceedings of the given type usually take and what costs may arise – including the costs of losing. We do not promise outcomes, but we present realistic scenarios.
- Attempt to resolve the dispute out of court. A demand, negotiation, mediation – where they make sense. In any case, a statement of claim must state whether the parties have attempted mediation or another out-of-court resolution of the dispute and, if not, explain why (Article 187 § 1(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure (k.p.c.)).
- Statement of claim or statement of defence. We prepare the pleading together with all the evidence, applications for interim security, for witnesses to be heard or for an expert opinion.
- Conduct of the case. Attendance at sessions and hearings, preparatory pleadings, examination of witnesses, objections to expert opinions, settlement talks. We keep you informed of the progress of the case on an ongoing basis.
- Judgment and next steps. An application for written reasons, an appeal or a response to an appeal, followed by enforcement (see debt collection) or defence against it.
Which court has jurisdiction
District Court or Regional Court. District Courts hear all cases except those reserved for the Regional Courts (Article 16 k.p.c.). The Regional Courts hear, among others, cases concerning property rights in which the value of the subject matter of the dispute exceeds PLN 100,000, and cases concerning non-property rights (Article 17(1) and (4) k.p.c.). In cases concerning monetary claims, the value of the subject matter of the dispute is the amount claimed (Article 19 § 1 k.p.c.). This also determines which court will hear an appeal: from a judgment of a District Court – the Regional Court; from a judgment of a Regional Court – the Court of Appeal (Article 367 § 2 k.p.c.).
Territorial jurisdiction. As a rule, a claim is filed with the court in whose district the defendant has its place of residence or registered office (Articles 27 and 30 k.p.c.). Contractual disputes may also be brought before the court of the place of performance of the contract (Article 34 k.p.c.), and claims for damage caused by a tort – before the court of the place where the event giving rise to the damage occurred (Article 35 k.p.c.). The parties may agree in writing to submit disputes to a court chosen in the contract (Article 46 § 1 k.p.c.) – for businesses from the Tri-City, this is often a way to ensure that any litigation takes place in Gdańsk.
Commercial court. Commercial cases are heard by the commercial divisions of the District and Regional Courts under the rules on proceedings in commercial cases (Article 458¹ et seq. k.p.c.).
Commercial disputes
Commercial cases include, among others, cases arising from civil-law relations between businesses within the scope of their business activity (including where one of the parties has ceased trading), cases arising from the company relationship, from construction works contracts and contracts closely connected with them, from leasing agreements, and cases against persons liable for a business's debt – e.g. sureties or management board members (Article 458² § 1 k.p.c.). Typical disputes we handle:
- for payment of remuneration, the price or damages for non-performance or improper performance of a contract (Article 471 of the Civil Code (k.c.)),
- concerning contractual penalties and their reduction (Article 484 k.c.),
- concerning the quality, scope and acceptance of performance, and guarantees and statutory warranty (rękojmia) between businesses,
- for interest in commercial transactions and compensation for debt recovery costs,
- disputes between shareholders or partners and with the company, including over the liability of management board members,
- disputes under leases of commercial premises, distribution, franchise, agency and leasing agreements.
The strict rules of commercial proceedings. These proceedings are markedly more formal than an ordinary civil case:
- the claimant must state all allegations and evidence in the statement of claim, and the defendant – in the statement of defence; any submitted late are disregarded, unless the party substantiates that it was not possible to submit them earlier or that the need arose later (Article 458⁵ k.p.c.),
- an act of a party to which the law attaches the acquisition, loss or change of a right – e.g. notice of termination, withdrawal, acknowledgement – may be proved only by a document, unless the party shows that it cannot produce one for reasons beyond its control (Article 458¹¹ k.p.c.),
- the court admits witness evidence only where, after all other evidence has been exhausted, facts relevant to the case remain unexplained (Article 458¹⁰ k.p.c.),
- during the proceedings, new claims may not be brought instead of or in addition to the existing ones, and a counterclaim is inadmissible (Article 458⁸ §§ 1 and 3 k.p.c.),
- the parties may conclude an evidence agreement excluding certain evidence – in writing on pain of invalidity or orally before the court (Article 458⁹ k.p.c.).
A party that is not a business, or is a business operated by a natural person, may apply for the case to be heard without applying the rules on commercial proceedings – within one week of service of the instructions (Article 458⁶ k.p.c.). For a sole trader, this can be a significant relief that is easily overlooked.
In practice, this means that in a commercial dispute there is no room for "we will fill that in later". We prepare the statement of claim or defence so that it contains all the material – even if some of the evidence seems unnecessary for now.
Civil disputes
We represent private individuals and businesses in cases:
- for payment – under contracts of sale, mandate, contracts for specific work, loans and leases,
- for damages and compensation for non-pecuniary loss (zadośćuczynienie) – for personal injury and damage to property, including claims against insurers,
- for the return of undue performance and unjust enrichment,
- for the return of property, interference with possession, ownership and co-ownership, and easements (see real estate),
- for the protection of personal rights (dobra osobiste),
- under consumer contracts – acting for consumers as well as businesses (see consumer complaints and disputes).
In ordinary proceedings, a party may, as a rule, present allegations and evidence until the close of the hearing, but the presiding judge may require it to state all allegations and evidence in a preparatory pleading on pain of their being disregarded (Article 205³ § 2 k.p.c.), and once the hearing plan has been drawn up at the preparatory session, new evidence is, as a rule, disregarded (Article 205¹² § 1 k.p.c.). So there is less latitude than it might seem. Cases for payment of up to PLN 20,000 are heard in simplified proceedings (Article 505¹ k.p.c.), which have their own restrictions.
Construction disputes
Cases arising from construction works contracts (umowy o roboty budowlane) and from contracts closely connected with the construction process that serve the performance of the works are commercial cases (Article 458² § 1(5) k.p.c.). Where one of the parties is a consumer – e.g. a person building a house – the strict rules of commercial proceedings do not apply, but the case is still heard by the commercial court (Article 458¹ § 1 k.p.c.). In construction cases, the court refers the parties to mediation before the preparatory session or the first hearing (Article 458³ᵃ k.p.c.).
A construction works contract should be evidenced in writing (Article 648 § 1 k.c.). The contractor undertakes to hand over a structure built in accordance with the design and the principles of technical knowledge, and the investor – among other things – to hand over the construction site, accept the structure and pay the remuneration (Article 647 k.c.). Our work includes:
- settlement of remuneration – lump-sum and cost-estimate based, additional and substitute works, partial acceptances (the investor is obliged to accept works in parts unless the contract provides otherwise – Article 654 k.c.),
- payment guarantees – the contractor may at any time demand a payment guarantee from the investor (a bank or insurance guarantee, a letter of credit or a bank surety); this right cannot be excluded by contract, and if the investor fails to provide the guarantee within the deadline set, which may not be shorter than 45 days, the contractor may withdraw from the contract through the investor's fault (Articles 649¹–649⁴ k.c.),
- defects and delays – the provisions on contracts for specific work apply accordingly to the consequences of delay, defective performance, statutory warranty and withdrawal from the contract before the structure is completed (Article 656 § 1 k.c.),
- contractual penalties – their calculation, set-off against remuneration and reduction,
- disputes with subcontractors and the investor's joint and several liability for the remuneration of a notified subcontractor (Article 647¹ k.c.),
- performance bonds and retained deposits,
- disputes with property developers – see also real estate.
In construction cases, the site documents are key: the construction log, acceptance reports, meeting notes, correspondence with the site inspector, cost estimates and photographs. An expert is almost always needed – which is why we formulate the points to be proved precisely at the statement of claim stage. While the project is still ongoing, an agreement or mediation is often more sensible than years of litigation.
Securing the claim
The court may grant interim security before the statement of claim is filed and while the case is pending (Article 730 k.p.c.). You must substantiate the claim and a legal interest – that is, show that without security it will be impossible or seriously difficult to enforce the judgment (Article 730¹ k.p.c.). The application should be dealt with without delay, no later than within one week (Article 737 k.p.c.). Security may take the form of, for example, attachment of a bank account, a compulsory mortgage or a prohibition on disposal (Article 747 k.p.c.), and in non-monetary cases – regulation of the parties' rights and obligations for the duration of the proceedings. Security can be decisive where the other party could dispose of its assets during the proceedings.
Deadlines you must not miss
- statement of defence – within the time limit set by the court, no shorter than two weeks (Article 205¹ § 1 k.p.c.); a statement of defence filed late is returned, and failing to file one may result in a default judgment issued in closed session (Article 339 k.p.c.),
- statement of opposition to a default judgment – two weeks from service of the judgment (Article 344 § 1 k.p.c.),
- statement of opposition to a payment order issued in writ-of-payment proceedings – as a rule two weeks from service; objections to an order issued in order-for-payment proceedings – one month, where service takes place within the European Union (Article 480² § 2 k.p.c.),
- application for written reasons for a judgment – one week from the announcement of the judgment or, where the judgment is served ex officio, from its service (Article 328 k.p.c.); the deadline for an appeal runs from service of the judgment with reasons, which is why this application should not be skipped,
- appeal – two weeks from service of the judgment with reasons; if the time for preparing the reasons has been extended – three weeks (Article 369 k.p.c.),
- interlocutory appeal (zażalenie) – one week from service of the decision with reasons (Article 394 § 2 k.p.c.),
- cassation appeal (skarga kasacyjna) – two months from service of the second-instance ruling with reasons (Article 398⁵ § 1 k.p.c.); in cases concerning property rights it is inadmissible where the value of the subject matter of the appeal is lower than PLN 50,000 (Article 398² § 1 k.p.c.).
Deadlines run from service, including substituted service – after two collection notices (awizo), a document is usually deemed served even if no one has collected it (Article 139 § 1 k.p.c.). Posting a document at a Polish office of a designated universal postal service operator is equivalent to filing it with the court (Article 165 § 2 k.p.c.). If you have received a document from a court, contact us straight away, not on the last day of the deadline.
Costs of proceedings
The costs consist mainly of the court fee, expenses (e.g. the expert's fee) and legal representation costs. In cases concerning property rights of up to PLN 20,000, the court fee on a claim is fixed and depends on the value bracket, and above PLN 20,000 it is, as a rule, 5% of the value of the subject matter of the dispute (Article 13 of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases); the same fee is, as a rule, charged on an appeal (Article 18(2)). The losing party reimburses the opponent's necessary costs of the proceedings (Article 98 k.p.c.) – this must be taken into account when assessing the risk. A natural person who is unable to bear the costs without detriment to the necessary maintenance of themselves and their family may apply for exemption from court costs (Article 102 of the Act on Court Costs).
Settlement and mediation
Mediation is voluntary and may be conducted before proceedings are commenced or – with the parties' consent – while they are pending (Article 183¹ k.p.c.). A settlement concluded before a mediator and approved by the court has the legal force of a settlement concluded before the court (Article 183¹⁵ § 1 k.p.c.), and a claim confirmed by it becomes time-barred after six years (Article 125 § 1 k.c.). Before filing a claim, one may also apply for a summons to a conciliation hearing (Article 185 k.p.c.). A settlement is not always possible, but it often allows the dispute to be ended faster and more cheaply, with a solution better suited to the parties' interests than a judgment. We prepare for settlement talks as carefully as for a hearing.
Typical mistakes made by parties in litigation
- a statement of defence filed late or not at all – and a default judgment,
- missing the one-week deadline for applying for written reasons, which complicates an appeal,
- submitting evidence only at the hearing in a commercial case,
- basing the case solely on witness testimony where a document is required,
- a claim for an amount without a breakdown showing how it was arrived at,
- ignoring a set-off or limitation defence that should have been raised,
- filing documents on the last day of the deadline, with no margin for the unexpected.
What you can do yourself and when you need an advocate
In civil cases, representation by an advocate is, as a rule, not mandatory – the court informs the parties of this (Article 205² § 1(2) k.p.c.). Exceptions include proceedings before the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), including a cassation appeal. You can collect and organise the documents yourself, prepare a chronology of events, identify witnesses and check the dates of service. In simple cases involving small amounts, many people conduct the proceedings themselves.
An advocate's help is particularly advisable in commercial and construction cases, cases involving large sums or experts, where the other party is represented, and at the appeal stage. If you would first like to assess the case in a single meeting, see legal advice.
Court cases from Gdańsk and Pomerania
Our office is in Gdańsk at al. Grunwaldzka 87/91 lok. 10. We conduct cases before the courts in Gdańsk, including the Regional Court in Gdańsk (Sąd Okręgowy w Gdańsku) and the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk (Sąd Apelacyjny w Gdańsku), as well as before the District Courts in Gdynia, Sopot, Wejherowo, Kartuzy, Kościerzyna, Tczew, Starogard Gdański and Malbork. We represent clients from the Tri-City, Pruszcz Gdański, Rumia, Reda, Żukowo and other towns in the region. We also conduct cases before courts throughout Poland – many hearings are now held remotely, and we file pleadings electronically.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a court case take?
It depends on the court, the type of case, the number of witnesses and whether an expert is needed. Cases with a payment order in which the defendant does not defend itself may end within a few months; construction disputes requiring an expert opinion often take much longer. In commercial cases, the rules require the court to aim to resolve the case within six months of the statement of defence being filed (Article 458⁸ § 4 k.p.c.), although in practice this is not always possible.
I have been served with a claim. What should I do?
Check the date of service and the deadline set for the statement of defence – no shorter than two weeks. Do not ignore the document: failing to respond may result in a default judgment. In a commercial case, all allegations and evidence must be presented in the statement of defence. Ideally, contact us as soon as you receive the document.
Is a case between a company and a sole trader a commercial case?
As a rule, yes, if it concerns the business activity of both parties. A business operated by a natural person may, however, apply for the case to be heard without applying the rules on commercial proceedings – within one week of service of the instructions.
Who pays for the proceedings?
Each party bears its own costs while the case is under way, and once it ends the losing party, as a rule, reimburses the winning party's necessary costs, including the court fee and legal representation costs. Where a party succeeds in part, costs are apportioned accordingly.
Where do I start if I want to appeal?
Usually with an application for service of the judgment with written reasons – within one week of the announcement of the judgment or of its service, where the judgment is served ex officio. The deadline for an appeal (two weeks) runs only from service of the judgment with reasons.
Is mediation worth trying?
Often, yes – particularly in construction disputes and between long-standing business partners. Mediation is voluntary, and a settlement approved by the court has the force of a court settlement. We help you prepare for mediation and assess whether the proposed terms are favourable to you.
Do you handle cases outside Gdańsk?
Yes. We represent clients before courts throughout Poland, and many hearings are held remotely. Please get in touch.