Category: Bez kategorii

Warmest wishes for a joyful Christmas and a New Year filled with health, happiness and professional success.

The Rosicki, Grudziński & Co. team

Our law firm has secured a landmark victory in a complex legal dispute concerning unpaid demurrage fees, on behalf of its international freight-forwarder Clients. The case, which involved critical aspects of international sale of goods, multimodal transport, and the often contentious issue of demurrage, has now reached a definitive conclusion. The Court of Appeal has upheld the initial ruling, making the judgment final and binding.

The case revolved around cargo sellers who exported frozen meat products to the Middle East but failed to properly arrange for the collection of the goods by the consignee (buyers) at the designated port. This failure resulted in the freight-forwarders incurring substantial demurrage fees due to the extended storage of containers at the port, while the cargo was awaiting proper collection.

The case involved a number of complex legal issues, including the intersection of international sale of goods and multimodal transport. While the sellers initially expressed their willingness to comply with the contract terms, they later refused to pay the demurrage fees resulting from the delays. The sellers also argued that the containers had been shipped to the wrong port, but our Team successfully challenged this defence in court.

Through detailed investigation and expert testimony, our legal Team proved that the terminal to which the containers were sent indeed fell within the description of the port nominated by the sellers. The Court ruled that the sellers’ argument regarding the wrong port was without merit. Additionally, the sellers claimed that the cargo had been damaged during sea transit, which, if proven, would have strongly imply our Clients’ liability. According to Polish law, freight-forwarders must disprove responsibility for damage if the claimant can show that the loss occurred during transport they arranged – this usually boils down to freight-forwarders having to conclusively prove utmost diligence in selecting the carrier.

However, our Team successfully demonstrated that no conclusive evidence existed to support the claim that the cargo was damaged during sea transit. Expert testimony indicated that the damage most likely occurred during the last leg of the return transport, which had been arranged by the sellers. The Court found the sellers’ claim of damage to be unsubstantiated and ruled in favor of the freight-forwarders, confirming the sellers’ liability for the unpaid demurrage fees.

The Court of Appeal has recently upheld the initial decision, making the ruling final and binding. This victory serves as a significant achievement for our firm and a crucial precedent for the freight-forwarding industry.

If you have questions regarding this or similar matters, feel free to contact our Team at rgco@rgcolegal.com

We wish you, your families and friends, colleagues a joyful Christmas Season and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

The Rosicki, Grudziński & Co. team

We would like to inform you that our office will be closed on November 1st in observance of a Polish national holiday.

Nonetheless, some of our dedicated team members will continue to have access to their email. If you have any urgent matters that require immediate attention, please do not hesitate to reach out to our partners directly on their mobile phones. You can find their contact details in the “Our Team” section of our website.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this holiday period. Normal office operations will resume on the following business day.

 

/SEK/

This coming Friday, October 11th, Gdynia will host the annual maritime industry event – “Wspólna Kaczka”.

We are pleased to announce that our firm’s partner, attorney Maciej Grudziński, will be participating in this event.

We warmly invite you to follow the updates from this gathering.

 

/SEK/

On Friday, May 17th, in Szczecin, the annual meeting of representatives of the maritime economy – the ‘Herring Meeting’ – will take place. Traditionally, our law firm’s team participates in this event, and those interested in meeting us are cordially invited to table number 150.

 

/SEK/

We are pleased to inform you that our law firm has just successfully concluded the representation of one of our Polish clients in a case brought before an Italian court.

The background of the dispute was the destruction of goods (food products) during a fire in Poland. The insurer of the product filed a lawsuit in one of the Scandinavian countries against our client’s principal, who in turn directed the same claim against our client before the court in Italy – additionally seeking that any future judgment by the Italian court also include the legal costs that the principal might be forced to pay in case of losing the case in one of the Nordic countries.

Thanks to the efficient cooperation between our law firm and our Scandinavian correspondent, including the collection of necessary evidence by our team for defense against compensation claims and their submission to foreign lawyers, the principal won the case brought by the insurer of the goods. As a result, the lawsuit against our client in Italy became irrelevant. However, it is worth emphasizing that as part of the comprehensive strategy for conducting the case, our law firm took timely steps to ensure that the process in Italy would not conclude before a judgment was issued in Scandinavia – overlooking such a matter could have potentially exposed the client to enforcement actions, for example, in Poland.

 

/SEK/

As a result of two Polish national holidays, please be informed that our office will be closed on the 1st and 3rd of May.

A number of our employees will, however, still be accessing their e-mails. Should you have any urgent matters that require attention, please feel free to contact our partners on their mobile phones (the contact details are available in the “Our team” section of our website).

 

/SEK/