How to vindicate claims more cheaply and quickly | Legal Alert

The provisions of the act on payment terms in commercial transactions (the “Act”) introduce new attractive options for creditors as regards the vindication of claims arising from commercial transactions.

The creditor may sue the debtor in proceedings by writ of payment, on the basis of the following documents attached to the statements of claim:

• contract,
• evidence confirming the delivery of a mutual non-financial performance (e.g. a goods dispatched note or bill of landing),
• evidence confirming the receipt of an invoice or bill by the debtor when the plaintiff seeks a payment in cash.

The obtaining of an order for payment under the writ of payment proceedings is much more favourable for the creditor, as:

• the plaintiff is only required to pay ¼ of the filing fee while the defendant, in case of bringing charges against the order for payment is obliged to pay ¾ of the fees (which often effectively discourages defendants from bringing charges, e.g. the filing fee equals 5% of the value of the subject matter of litigation, and the value is PLN 100.000, when filing the statement of claim, the claimant is obliged to pay the filing fee of PLN 1.250 while the defendant will have to pay PLN 3.750 on the charges under against the order for payment);
• the order of payment constitutes a warrant for securing a claim upon its issuance, without a need to append an enforcement clause. This means that the claimant may effectively demand (immediately after the service of the order for payment) that its claim against the defendant is secured through, e.g. bank account attachment or entering a mortgage on real estate properties.

What is more, in addition to the claims arising under outstanding invoices payable by the debtor, the Act provides a basis for the vindication of amounts in PLN equivalent to EUR 40 for each transaction executed with the debtor in performance of a framework contract. In practice, the number of invoices issued by the creditor to confirm the execution of transactions by the parties is the decisive factor. This amount is meant to compensate the creditor for the costs of recovery.

The above solutions undoubtedly provide creditors with quick and reliable protection while reducing the costs of litigation.

We can support you in:

• preparation of adequate solutions to enable the vindication of claims according to the above described approach in the future;
• verification whether your current arrangements with contractors enable the vindication of claims according to the provisions of the Act, and support in the vindication of such claims.

Authors:

Janusz Mazurek, Partner, Attorney at law

Helena Czechowska, Junior Associate