Lawyer in Poland did a bad job possibility of compensation?

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Dec 5, 10, 18:48 #1

Hi all,
My friends’ parents had to return to Poland at very short notice because the lawyer who was supposed to set up power of attorney for them screwed up.

Their Daughter signed the papers to buy their house but wasnt able to sign the papers to complete the sale of their family apartment. They have to arrive and sign by 10am tomorrow. With the weather, their flight from Dublin was cancelled now they have to fly from Belfast to Krakow and get a train to Poznan.

Does anyone know if it’s easy to take action in order to recoup their expenses?

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Dec 5, 10, 18:58 #2
Normally they would have signed a contract with the lawyer before he made any actions, check there first. Remember to keep all receipts of flights, hotels etc.. to show what the losses are. The weather has improved, plus 1 in Krakow. Just out of curiosity, why do they have to be here by 10 tomorrow, surely they can arrange another date?

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Dec 5, 10, 19:07 #3

SeanBM:

Just out of curiosity, why do they have to be here by 10 tomorrow, surely they can arrange another date?

I think the other party were going to pull out by that time. They only had three people look at the apartment since August.

The documents were all setup in July allowing the Daughter to sign for the purchase of the House and sale of two allotments. These went through smoothly, for some reason the Daughter cannot sign to sell the apartment.

An additional complication is that the house is almost 100 years old and some kind of "listed building" regulations come into force next year. They are reluctant to get a mortgage to pay for refurbishment so need this sale to avoid even greater costs. If that makes sense!!

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Edited by: SeanBM Dec 5, 10, 19:17 #4

It's difficult to give any advice without knowing the full circumstances.

I have had many problems in the past with POAs.

Did the Notary tell the daughter why her POA did not work?

Their Daughter could try a different notary, that works sometimes as the Notary's butt is on the line if anything goes wrong and some are too cautious.
Tell her to go to as many different Notaries as possible and see if they will except it before organising the sale with the buyer.

What did the lawyer say when she told him his POA did not work?

I don't know how much you know about how things work here, so excuse me if you already know.
But lawyers here aren't anything like in Ireland, they are basically pen pushers and legal representatives, the people with the almighty power of the stamp for any paperwork are the Notaries but they are also to blame if anything goes wrong. In the future, get the notary to make up the POA and then they will have to except it.

BarneyThreads: 16 Posts: 1,630 Joined: May 26, 08 ♂	Dec 5, 10, 19:33 #5
SeanBM: Did the Notary tell the daughter why her POA did not work? That I dont know. Perhaps the Notary was too cautious as you said. Any way it will be done tomorrow morning. I really appreciate your replies..................now I have to listen to horror stories about the evil Notary until the next baddie reveals himself:)

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Dec 5, 10, 19:37 #6
Ta failte romhat. I think anyone who has ever legally represented someone here has had problems with POAs, simply because we have a different system and employ lawyers to do what we should get Notaries to do.

BarneyThreads: 16 Posts: 1,630 Joined: May 26, 08 ♂	Dec 5, 10, 19:50 #7
You're more than welcome. I'm just pleased they have a period house with some land.

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Edited by: SeanBM Dec 5, 10, 19:53 #8

Barney:

An additional complication is that the house is almost 100 years old and some kind of "listed building" regulations come into force next year. They are reluctant to get a mortgage to pay for refurbishment so need this sale to avoid even greater costs.

You should also check what the city will do for them.
I am not 100% about this so please get them to check it out properly before committing but there is a law that listed buildings can not fall in to ruin and if the owners put in 10% of the cost of refurbishment the city will give 90% interest free or something like that.
But as I said, please find out about it in case I got it wrong.

Recently a building was taken off owners by the council in Krakow for not being maintained.

Do you have any more details about the law coming in to enforcement next year?

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Dec 5, 10, 20:56 #9

SeanBM:

Do you have any more details about the law coming in to enforcement next year?

All I know is that they are in a rush to refurbish before this date. I have seen photographs of the work and it seems outwardly sympathetic though they are using roofing tiles that come in huge pieces. I have never seen this material before and I worked on homers a lot (my dad was a roofer).
They also put in uPVC windows which they got cheap but retained the wooden doors (exterior).

The house is on the edge of their town, its not one of those old town dwellings whose name begins with "K" but I cant remember.

I will try to find more details and mention the info you have provided.

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂ [Suspended]	Dec 5, 10, 21:37 #10
Barney: its not one of those old town dwellings whose name begins with "K" but I cant remember. Kamienica :)

BarneyThreads: 16 Posts: 1,630 Joined: May 26, 08 ♂	Dec 5, 10, 22:05 #11
delphiandomine: Kamienica Tenement!!! Thank you, I never knew how to explain that. Cheers:)

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Dec 7, 10, 12:49 #12

Zero chance of compensation unless there is an engagement letter with the lawyer. In any case even if there is then normally it would cost weeks and PLN to lodge a claim.

Being honest these PoA issues have arisen in every time I have done some property transaction - I always seem to be waiting for some document to arrive only minutes before the notary is due. Next time your friends will know (if there is a next time) otherwise its just tough and rather chalk it up to experience.

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