JURE summary



JURE summary

The plaintiff, domiciled and conducting business activity in Poland, brought an action on 16 May 2014 against the defendant, established in Germany. He sought adjudication of illegally collected remuneration with statutory interest based on “Article 18(1)(4) of Act of 16th April 1993 On combating unfair competition” and in relation to “Article 102 of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”. On 19 March 2010, the plaintiff entered an agreement with an Austrian company and its related entities, one of which was the defendant, regulating the conditions of furniture delivery by the plaintiff and payment conditions on his behalf in this respect.

The parties also entered an “Agreement on conditions” on 27 January 2012 awarding the defendant additional remuneration defined as “boss’s bonus”. The defendant deducted this “boss’s bonus” from payments on behalf of the plaintiff. The plaintiff claimed that this action has the appearance of unfair competition through the collection of charges other than commercial margins for accepting goods for sale.

The plaintiff claimed that the “boss’s bonus” provision of the “Agreement on conditions” is against the law. The Sąd Okręgowy in Ł. (PL) dismissed the action on 11 February 2015 recognising that in the light of „Article 3(1) and Article 23 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ("Brussels I Regulation") and Article 25 of the Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ("New Brussels I Regulation")” Polish courts do not have jurisdiction in this matter. The Sąd Okręgowy pointed out that the agreement of 19 March 2010 stipulates directly that all claims related to its conclusion and fulfilment shall fall under the jurisdiction of Austrian courts. The Sąd Okręgowy further ruled that the “Agreement on conditions” of 27 January 2012 is an amendment to the agreement of 19 March 2010 and therefore falls under the jurisdiction clause. The Sąd Apelacyjny (PL) agreed with the first instance’s decision.

The plaintiff made a cassation appeal to the Sąd Najwyższy (PL). The Sąd Najwyższy (PL) dismissed the cassation appeal in its entirety based on following arguments:

1. The original complaint before the Sąd Okręgowy in Ł. was made before 10 January 2015. In the light of Article 66(1) of the New Brussels I Regulation, its provisions are not applicable in this matter.

2. The complaint does fall under the Brussels I Regulation.

3. Based on the Article 23 of the Brussels I Regulation the stipulation of the agreement of 19 March 2010 concerning the jurisdiction of Austrian courts covers all claims related to the agreement’s conclusion and fulfilment.

4. The „Agreement on conditions” is an amendment to the agreement of 19 March 2010 and therefore its provisions on jurisdiction are applicable.

5. Sąd Okręgowy in Ł. and Sąd Apelacyjny properly excluded the jurisdiction of Polish courts and ruled in favour of Austrian courts.