Consumer Seeks Temporary Injunction, HT Claims It Is Not a Party to the Dispute

Today, a hearing was held at the Municipal Court in Zagreb regarding the proposal of the Consumer Society for the issuance of a temporary injunction to prohibit the collection of bids for the sale of HT shares. The proposal was submitted against the Republic of Croatia, namely Hanfa and HT.

The Consumer bases the proposal on the omission of data in the so-called Prospectus regarding the lost first-instance dispute of HT against the Consumer Society and six of its members, which Hanfa was obliged to include when listing HT shares on the first quotation of the Zagreb Stock Exchange. In this way, they claim in the Consumer Society, buyers of shares did not have complete information that analogous claims from 1.3 million HT subscribers could result in damages of five billion kuna.

HT’s lawyer Nevenko Cirkveni emphasized that the proposer has not proven passive legitimacy in any way, meaning that HT has nothing to do with this dispute as the company neither buys nor sells shares. According to him, active legitimacy has also not been proven, questioning whom the Consumer represents. He also objected that the costs were not specified and that it is not possible to realize the claim, thus the applicant has not proven the likelihood of any damage occurring. The representative of Hanfa, or the Republic of Croatia, requested a review of the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court, also noting that this figure is approximate and it is unclear on whose behalf the Consumer is acting.

The representatives of the consumers stated that passive legitimacy is proven, meaning that Hanfa and HT are parties to the dispute and represent consumers under the Consumer Protection Act. They specified the costs by the possibility that 1.3 million subscribers could sue HT analogous to previous claims of the Consumer Society and its members, and they also believe that the Municipal Court is competent based on the Courts Act.

During the discussion, HT’s representative Cirkveni stated that buyers of shares are not consumers, but investors, or entrepreneurs, to which the Consumer’s representative Mladen Dragičević replied that they are also consumers since they purchase goods in the market about which they must have accurate information. Judge Mirela Mioč concluded the discussion by stating that the parties will receive the Court’s decision in writing soon. (Edis Felić)