Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: II Ca 979/12
    • Member State: Poland
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Court decision in appeal
    • Decision date: 11/01/2013
    • Court: District Court in Białystok
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff: M.W.
    • Defendant: K.S.
    • Keywords: consumer rights, guarantee, withdrawal period
  • Directive Articles
    Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive, Article 1 Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive, Article 5, 2.
  • Headnote
    (1) Construction works contract should not be treated as a contract for a specific work, so it cannot be assessed in the context of the provisions of the Civil Code related to the provisions of Act of 27 July 2002 on specific terms of consumers sale.
    (2) Hence the allegations of infringement of the provisions of the Directive 99/44 are unjustified.
  • Facts
    The plaintiff concluded a construction works contract with the entrepreneur defendant. Works were divided into two stages. The Regional Court established that during the process of construction the parties presented conflicting views i.e.: referring to the quality of the works. Moreover, the defendant refused to grant a permission for construction supervision and failed to comply with the obligation to carry out the 2nd stage of the works, which in turn has caused that another contractor had to be employed and a higher rate of tax on goods and services had to be paid. As a result, the property of the plaintiff suffered damage, so defendant must pay a compensation to the plaintiff .

    The defendant appealed to the District Court in Bialystok, indicating that in this case certain provisions of the Act of 27 July 2002 on specific terms of consumers sale and Directive 99/44 should be applied.
  • Legal issue
    Firstly, the court defined a legal character of the contract concluded by the parties.

    The contract between the parties was assumed as a construction works contract by the Regional Court. Approving such an assessment, the District Court noted that pursuant to the Civil Code, a standard construction works contract has - in relation to the contract for a specific work - such specific features as the size of the project, customized features, compliance of the investment with the provisions of the Construction Law, and, finally, the obligation of the investor to cooperate with the contractor in preparating and performing the subject of the contract, which cooperation is concluded in the delivery of the project and of the construction site.

    Therefore, the agreement between the parties having such features could not be treated as a contract for a specific task, and therefore could not be assessed in the context of the provision sof the Civil Code in conjunction with the provisions of the Act of 27 July 2002 on specific terms of consumer sales. Hence, the allegations of infringement of Article 9 and article 5 (2) of the Directive 99/44 cannot be recognised as justifiable.
  • Decision

    (1) Can the provisions of the Act of 27 July 2002 on specific terms of consumers sale implementing Directive 99/44 be applied to the construction works contract?
    (2) Can the allegations of infringement of the provisions of the Directive 99/44 be justified in the context of the construction works contract?

    URL: http://orzeczenia.bialystok.so.gov.pl/content/$N/150505000001003_II_Ca_000979_2012_Uz_2013-01-11_001

    Full text: Full text

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  • Result
    The District Court changed the judgment of the Regional Court in the part concerning the amount of compensation and denied the appeal in the other part.