It is estimated that there are about 235,000 lawsuits and disputes against the state, of which a large part the state is certainly losing, involving at least 20 billion kuna that taxpayers will eventually have to pay.
A week after the settlement between SN Holding and the Government was announced, in which Darko Ostoja, after nine years of litigation with the state, acquires a majority stake in the Liburnija hotels in Opatija, this otherwise ‘tough’ businessman gives the impression of exhaustion. He would still explain the essence of the dispute in detail. He says that the hardest time for him was in 2005 when the agreement was reached and then the Government terminated it. If it was difficult for him to litigate against the state, that is a message to everyone who decides to stubbornly seek justice against the state apparatus. The out-of-court settlement between the Government and Darko Ostoja’s SN Holding is actually an exception in the practice of lawsuits and disputes against the state. The Government, ministries, and other public services avoid out-of-court settlements and often irrationally persist in delaying and conducting lengthy court disputes, even in cases where it is undoubtedly likely that the state cannot win.
