Recently, the dispute resolution team represented two tenants in disputes with landlords. In both cases, our advice resulted in settlements beneficial to our clients - a pre-litigation settlement and in second case a mediation settlement concluded before the first hearing.
We want to share brief outlines of these cases present the challenges overcame while handling the case.
Case for refund of overpayment of service charge
The first case involved the landlord's billing of the costs of operating the common parts of an office building. The essence of the dispute was the incorrect allocation of operating costs between tenants of different parts of the building with different intended uses.
The case was challenging because of the landlord's omissions which made it difficult to calculate and prove the actual consumption of utilities. Thus, it was not easy to determine the actual amounts of overpayments on the part of our client.
During the litigation, we also questioned the possibility of charging tenants for some of the components of the utility fee. These included:
- property tax for parking, separately paid by tenants as part of parking fees,
- the cost of significant repairs to the building,
- public fees, such as the perpetual usufruct fee.
An additional difficulty in this case was the fact that the subject of the dispute covered issues on which court case law does not provide clear answers. As a result, it was difficult to predict the turn of events.
This made us all the more pleased with the fully satisfaction of the client with the outcome of our actions.
After we filed a claim for payment, the litigation ended with a mediation settlement before the first hearing in the trial.
Case for unjustified termination of contract
In the second of the cases, we represented a warehouse tenant in a dispute with the landlord at the pre-court stage. The landlord terminated our client's fixed-term lease agreement with immediate effect due to the tenant's fault.
In doing so, the landlord referred to alleged breach of contract on the part of the client.
Termination of the contract in such a manner involved the risk of the landlord directing significant financial claims to the client (tenant) on various grounds.
What determined our success in this case? We believe that with an individual approach to the case and full commitment to the case, we are always able to find points that will be a bargaining chip. This has been the case this time as well.
A detailed analysis of the case allowed us to find arguments that encouraged the landlord to revoke the lease termination and amicably reach an agreement on terms favorable to our client. This included waiver of all financial claims of the landlord towards our client.
In both cases the clients were represented by Mateusz Kisiela and Kamila Wojtanowska, assisted by Anna Chrobot.
If you need help with a case related to the issues addressed above, please contact us >>