RKKW Kwasnicki, Wrobel & Partners has successfully represented Leszek Gierszewski, the majority shareholder and president of the board of Drutex SA, in a family business dispute in the District Court in Gdansk and the District Court in Slupsk.
On March 5, 2019, Drutex obtained confirmation by the District Court in Gdansk, Commercial Division, that Gierszewski, who holds over 75% of shares in Drutex, is the only person authorized to exercise rights arising from the majority of shares of Drutex. Despite the application of Grazyna Gierszewska, his wife, the judgment was not suspended or revoked by the court of first instance.
According to RKKW, the judgment had a significant impact on decisions regarding Grazyna Gierszewska’s application to secure claims filed with the District Court in Slupsk, designed to establish that spouses should exercise rights attached to shares of Drutex together. However, the District Court in Slupsk in its decision of March 25, 2019 accepted Leszek Gierszewski's arguments to the contrary.
As a result, RKKW reports, during the general meeting of shareholders on March 26, 2019, the majority shareholder was able to independently exercise rights attached to shares, and decided to change the statute and bodies of company, stabilizing the situation in the company. RKKW provided legal services and chairmanship of the meeting.
RKKW Partner Damian Dworek commented: “Family court, in cases regarding the separation of property, should not decide on the corporate governance of the company, which is not a party to the proceedings. Ms. Gierszewska application directly violated, or was supposed to circumvent both the regulation of commercial law, which regulates functioning of joint-stock company, and decision of District Court in Gdansk of March 5, 2019.”
RKKW’s team consisted of Partner Damian Dworek and Radoslaw Kwasnicki.
