1. Unfavourable stipulations of the local area development plan in Gdańsk repealed
Action initiated by our Firm led to striking the stipulations unfavourable to the Firm-represented investor off the by-law adopted by the City Council. The Local Area Development Plan forecast a possibility of claiming ownership of “parking spaces” localised in the area of the historical city, which were to have been built by the Commune. However, no car parks had been build and the Investor, due to the technical constraints, could not design a building with an appropriate number of parking spaces. The action led to moving on to the next stage of the investment process, i.e. securing the planning permission.
2. Establishing the actual legal state of real property
While working for an entrepreneur, we established the actual and correct marking of the land in the land and mortgage register perused by the entity. Following our action, the faulty entries to 16 other land and mortgage registers were removed and the original entry to the land and mortgage register for a plot of land of market value of 150m PLN was upheld. What followed was that the annual real property tax levy was optimised.
3. Change of land classification
While providing comprehensive services to a developer, we spotted a tax optimisation opportunity for their land. Our actions focussed on the change of the classification of land from various land to agricultural and forestry land, which led to a change in the type of tax levied – the business, instead of real property tax levy, was liable to pay agricultural and forest taxes, whose rates are considerably lower. What is more, the actions allowed for updating the land classification to reflect the current state of real property.
4. Renewable energy sources – wind farms
Our experience in the energy industry was gained while providing comprehensive services to the entities dealing with sourcing real property for wind farm development (mainly through real property leasehold) with subsequent delivery of a comprehensive investment process including the construction of a wind farm and ensuring the utilities collect the energy produced by the renewable energy producers.
5. Land leasehold
Advising one of our Clients, we delivered a complete package of legal services of enterprises based on land tenancy and subsequently aimed at a variety of investment processes – mining plants or wind farms. Our actions focus not only on searching for the desired land but primarily on the day-to-day advice and legal-and-tax counselling with regard to the entire enterprise.
6. Girl injured in an accident while in horse riding class
We represented in the civil proceedings the parents of a young girl injured in an accident which had occurred in a horse stables. Our commitment resulted in the girl being granted a considerable amount of damages and non-pecuniary damages as well as an incapacity benefit, which would satisfy the existential needs of the injured girl.
7. Regional Environmental Protection Inspector’s post-inspection report
In the course of our Client’s business activity, the Regional Environmental Protection Inspector established the statutory norms stipulated by the environmental law had been slightly exceeded with respect to noise levels and surface dusting of the adjacent land, which had ostensibly resulted from the Client’s activity. In the course of the follow-up administrative proceedings it was confirmed that neither the noise nor the dusting had been generated by the Client, thus attributing no liability on their part.
8. Winding up of a Polish offshore industry company, whose shareholders are Norwegian citizens and legal persons
We are currently in the process of winding up an offshore industry company whose shareholders were Norwegian entities. Our contribution includes the comprehensive handling of the legal and, in cooperation with a accounting firm, accountancy-related aspects of the process in order to liquidate the entity.
9. Acquisition of dwelling units for a foreign-capital company
We have recently supported a Norwegian entity whose commercial target was to acquire dwelling units in order to let them on a short-term basis. Our actions focussed on forming a new company registered under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Poland and participating in the real property acquisition tenders called by the by the official receiver appointed for a bankrupt developer.
10. Investor developing a tenement house in the Main Town of Gdańsk
In the last three months our work focusses on counselling a group of Irish entrepreneurs who have acquired a land plot in the area of Gdańsk’s Main Town. The entrepreneurs’ target is to erect a tenement house whose style echoes the style of the Gdańsk Tenement Houses. The investment process was significantly delayed following the discovery of immovables of historical importance within the area of the acquired land. We have recently obtained a favourable decision of the Heritage Preservation Officer and we are now concentrating our efforts on initiating the process of securing a planning permission for the investment.
11. Confirmation of succession to an estate and the division of the latter
In our practice, we represent Clients in inheritance proceedings. We have lately negotiated the division of an estate of significant value between the three successors, of whom one is a minor. In the proceedings, we also obtained the Family Court’s approval of the negotiated and agreement-based estate division proposed by our firm.
12. Negotiations with an offshore industry Client’s counterparties
One of our Clients is a major Polish offshore industry company, which supplies its machinery and devices to customers all over the world. We represent this Client in dealings with customers from Europe, the United States, China and numerous South American countries.
13. Legal advice to an official receiver – debt collection
We have recently advised official receivers on bankruptcy proceedings.
We successfully concluded the proceedings to recover the payables extracted by the bailiff from a bankrupt entity after the declaration of liquidation bankruptcy.
14. Overturning a decision to refuse a VAT refund
In the proceedings before the Voievodship Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, we have obtained a repeal of the previous decision refusing to refund VAT to our Client, the disputed sum amounting to 0.5m PLN.
15. Transaction of acquisition of a natural aggregate deposit and mining plants
A mining industry Client instructed us to carry out due diligence and a comprehensive package of services including the acquisition of aggregate deposits and a mining plant.
16. Services for Homeowner Associations
In our practice, we carry out numerous actions on behalf of Homeowner Associations, including drafting resolutions and litigation assistance to recover debts or repeal the resolutions of a homeowner association. We are instructed not only by Homeowner Associations but also the owners of individual dwelling or commercial units, whose vested interests a Homeowners Association attempts to breach by e.g. adopting a resolution to change the purpose of a communal area of an immovable, whose exclusive use has been granted to the owner of one of the dwelling or commercial units by the developer.
17. Acquisition of concrete plant
We were instructed by our Client to provide comprehensive support while acquiring and financing the acquisition of a concrete plant. Our experience also involves comprehensive services to businesses supplying construction materials, including concrete plant operators: drafting agreements, debt recovery and day-to-day negotiations of commercial agreements.