Claims by the purchasers of W Investments certificates against Alior Bank S.A. justified in principle

On 30 September 2020, in a dispute initiated on behalf of the Client – purchaser of investment certificates of a closed-end investment fund of non-public assets (FIZAN) – against Alior Bank S.A., which sold the certificates in question, the District Court for Poznań – Stare Miasto in Poznań issued a preliminary ruling, in which it considered the Client’s claim for compensation for damage related to the sale by Alior Bank S.A. of W Investments investment certificates to be justified in principle. We already informed about it on 1 October 2020 on our website in the “News” tab.

The Law Firm has just received written grounds for the judgment described above. Its reading confirms the accuracy of the arguments presented in the trial against the bank. The Court found, among other things, that the damage for which the defendant bank is liable does not result from a decrease in the value of the purchased product below the value resulting from the realization of the investment risk and, above all, from the realization of the investment risk which the client did not accept.

In the Court’s opinion, the Client did not accept any risk, as the product presented to him by the defendant bank was supposed to be safe and secure. Additionally, in the Court’s opinion, the behaviour of the bank’s employees when presenting the offer, creating the impression that it is a lucrative offer, for exceptional clients and putting time pressure on them to make a decision, cannot be treated as reliable communication of information.

Finally, the Court found that the behaviour of the defendant Bank was contrary to both the law, and also to the principles of social coexistence, which justifies liability for damages.

Therefore, the District Court for Poznań – Stare Miasto in Poznań shared the position of the Client, represented by barrister Paweł Sowisło and attorney-at-law Przemysław Przerywacz, thus confirming the legitimacy of the claims brought against the bank.