Czech Supreme Court overturns compensation ruling on unlawful eviction

The Czech Supreme Court has for the second time overturned a Prague Municipal Court ruling on compensation for health damage to a woman whom a bailiff unlawfully evicted from a house in Prague 4. The case has been sent back for a new hearing, and the municipal court is bound by the Supreme Court's opinion.

The bailiff, Veronika Jakovská of Kutná Hora, evicted not only the woman but also her brother and mother from the house in Prague 4, by arrangement with the father of the family. After the unlawful action she also, as previously reported, forged evidence and manipulated the case. The state is now obliged to pay compensation to those who were evicted.

What the woman was seeking

The woman has already won several hundred thousand crowns for non-material harm. In the latest dispute she demanded 2.5 million crowns from the state for damage to her health, saying she has had mental health problems since the unlawful eviction.

The Prague 4 District Court awarded her 515 thousand, which the municipal court upheld. The Supreme Court, to which she appealed, ordered a more careful look at the possibility of increasing the sum. The municipal court added another 150 thousand crowns, but, in the Supreme Court's assessment, decided carelessly.

What the Supreme Court objected to

The panel chaired by Hana Polášková Vincorová criticized the Prague judges for reducing the woman's claim on the grounds that her poor health had several causes, not only the bailiff's actions. But the Supreme Court had already said clearly before: if the wrongful actions of the authorities are a substantial cause of the damage, the state is liable for all the consequences, even if other circumstances were also involved.

The court stressed that circumstances deserving special attention, in this case the bailiff's conduct, must be taken into account even if they have already affected compensation for another type of harm. They may be reflected in several claims at once if they influence each one differently.

In addition, the Supreme Court pointed out that the courts significantly increased the compensation for health damage awarded to the woman's brother, and when the woman drew the municipal court's attention to this, it ignored the argument. As a result, its decision could not be reviewed. The court published the verdict on its official board in recent days.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz