The law firm obtained a favorable ruling from the Court of Appeals in Warsaw: Alior Bank is liable for the sale of risky investment certificates

We are proud to announce our latest achievement! JLSW Law Firm has obtained a final judgment confirming the responsibility of Alior Bank S.A. for the distribution of products related to W Investments – Selective Investments FIZAN funds.

The court agreed with the arguments presented by legal advisors Joanna Zemojtel and Lidia Mallek of JLSW Law Firm, finding that the investment product distributed by the bank was not tailored to customers’ needs. In addition, the process of selling it was contrary to their interests and violated regulations governing financial markets. In the lawsuit, we pointed out numerous irregularities, pointing to both the provisions of the Financial Instruments Trading Act and its implementing acts.

The court of first instance indicated in the justification that Alior Bank, when offering investment certificates, failed to exercise due diligence in protecting the interests of its customers. The improper performance of the obligation on the part of Alior Bank consisted, among other things, in failing to carry out an adequacy text with the customer, which did not lead the customer to the obvious conclusion to abandon the purchase of the certificates, which would have been the case if the customer had known about the risks involved.

The court accepted our argumentation, in which we emphasized that the customers’ intention was to purchase instruments with no risk of capital loss. The bank had an obligation to carry out adequate verification of the customers’ knowledge and experience to enable them to make an informed investment decision. The bank’s actions were aimed solely at selling a product that did not meet customers’ needs, and the information provided by the bank was incomplete and misleading.

Presenting the certificates as a “safe” and lucrative investment that resembled a deposit was an unreliable act by Alior Bank. The bank acted in haste, failing to provide adequate information about the nature of the product and its risks. Customers were presented with the product as safe, even though in reality it involved a serious risk of capital loss.

As a result, the court held the bank liable for damages resulting from the realization of investment risks that customers did not accept. The damage suffered by the customers was the funds allocated for the purchase of the certificates minus the amount received by the customer in connection with the redemption of the certificates. Thus, the customer recovered all the funds invested in the certificates, plus interest.

The decision of the court of first instance was confirmed by the Court of Appeals in Warsaw, overwhelmingly dismissing the appeal filed by Alior Bank.

We congratulate the customers on their success and thank them for their trust!