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Jara Drapala & Partners Negotiates Settlement in Dispute Involving Poland's National Stadium

Jara Drapala & Partners Negotiates Settlement in Dispute Involving Poland's National Stadium

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Jara Drapala & Partners is reporting that it has successfully reached a settlement on behalf of Alpine Bau Deutschland AG in a lawsuit brought by the company as part of a consortium of contractors in 2014 against the Polish State Treasury for damages related to the consortium's construction of the National Stadium in Warsaw. In its initial claim, Alpine Bau demanded PLN 139 million in damages and remuneration. Linklaters advised the Polish State Treasury in negotiations, with CMS advising Zurich Insurance.

Alpine Bau Deutschland, Alpine Construction Poland, PBG, and Hydrobudowa Polska formed a consortium, contracting to build Poland's National Stadium. According to JD&P, the consortium was damaged by an improper discharge of responsibilities by the State Treasury (Ministry of Sports and Tourism) and its SPV: the National Sports Centre Sp. z o.o. (NCSR). The firm reports that the State Treasury provided defective project documentation, as well as introducing numerous changes and additions over the course of the project which caused an increase in costs and the need to perform additional work. As a result, although the stadium was to be completed in June 2011, construction was delayed, and was ultimately completed in November of that year. The official opening took place in January 2012.

As reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 21, 2016, a second consortium, consisting of Elektrobudowa SA, Qumak S.A., and AGAT S.A. was supported by Maruta Wachta on the matter. According to DJ&P, "this group of three entities was a subcontractor to the first consortium."

As a result of the settlement reached in November, 2016, the contractors, the State Treasury, NCSR, and Zurich Insurance have withdrawn their mutual claims and ended the dispute. According to JD&P, "the lawsuit was extraordinary, because it consisted of more than 200 claims, which were examined and substantiated on behalf of our client." The firm also reports that evidence in the case amounted to over 400 volumes of files, and it quoted the District Court in Warsaw, where the case was heard, as stating that: "There is no doubt that this case is one of the most extensive civil cases in Poland."

Alpine Bau Deutschland AG (in insolvency) was represented by JD&P Partners Przemyslaw Drapala and Andrzej Sokolowski and Senior Associate Filip Rasala, among other members of the firm's litigation team. 

The Linklaters team consisted of Of Counsels Marek Miller and Marcin Dziurda and Associate Justyna Kowalczyk.

 

 

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