Why does a court case in Lublin take 14 months?

Where is the time lost in the Lublin District Court?

In 2023, we observed how applications submitted to commercial departments in the region ended up in a queue that seemed endless. The first hearing is usually scheduled 183 days after the lawsuit is filed, which already takes six months out of an entrepreneur's life at the start. In the case of one of the Lublin transport companies we spoke with in October 2024, the delivery of the copy of the lawsuit to the contractor alone took 74 days. This is not the fault of the officials, but of a rigid system that requires physical acknowledgments of receipt and complicated postal procedures.

Every day of delay means the inability to trade with the amount of 52,000 PLN, which is stuck in a dispute over unpaid invoices. Clear rules of the game require that money works, rather than lying in a court deposit or virtual suspension. In common courts, the exchange of pleadings takes months because the judge has several hundred other cases on the docket simultaneously. At Lublin Union Arbitrage, we see that this time can be shortened by 78%, eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and focusing on facts, not legal loopholes.

By the way, many business owners in our region do not realize that statutory interest rarely covers real operational losses resulting from a lack of liquidity. When your 84,000 PLN is frozen for 14 months, inflation and lost business opportunities cost you much more than what the court will award in the finale. Court is the last resort, especially when deadlines are tight and business partners lose trust in each other due to stupid procedures.

Clear rules of the game require that money works, rather than lying in a court deposit for 14 months.

The trap of court experts and 6 months of silence

The biggest brake in commercial cases is expert opinions. In Lublin, the average waiting time for an opinion from an expert in construction or transport is 162 days. An analysis of 47 cases that came to us after resigning from the court path shows that in 19 cases, the expert asked for an extension of the deadline at least twice. This paralyzes the process because without this one piece of paper, the judge will not issue a verdict, even if the case seems obvious to both parties.

In arbitration conducted by Lublin Union Arbitrage, we approach this differently. We solve the problem, we don't look for the guilty at all costs for years. Our arbitrators are practitioners who can assess the value of machines or the cost of construction works without waiting half a year for an external opinion. In November 2024, we completed a dispute over a warehouse hall in Świdnik, where the difference in valuation was 34,800 PLN. The entire process, from the appointment of the arbitrator to the issuance of the decision, took us exactly 39 days.

Discretion is our standard, so we avoid public hearings, which in state courts often end with washing dirty laundry in front of the competition. In court, your financial problems become publicly available in the files. At our office at ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 22, everything stays within the four walls. This allows for greater honesty and a faster reach for an agreement because no one has to play to the gallery in front of a judge and a clerk.

Money frozen in procedures

The cost of a court filing is usually 5% of the value of the dispute. With an amount of 140,000 PLN, you have to put up 7,000 PLN at the very start, without being sure when or if this money will return. In addition, there are costs of legal representation and advances for experts. Realistically, a company must freeze about 12-16 thousand zlotys in cash just to start fighting for its own. At Lublin Union Arbitrage, costs are known in advance and are usually 31% lower than total court costs stretched over years.

Our statistics show that during those 14 months of waiting for a verdict, 14% of debtors declare bankruptcy or dispose of their assets. This means that even with a paper in hand after a year and a half, you have nothing to collect the debt from. Speed in business is not just about convenience; it is a real protection of capital. An arbitration award issued in 42 days gives you a chance to seize the debtor's account before they manage to hide funds from the bailiff.

We work mainly with companies from Lublin and the surrounding area that trade with contractors from across the eastern border or from Western Europe. Language barriers and different legal systems mean that state courts get lost in sworn translations and requisitions. We operate on commercial facts. If the goods left the warehouse on March 12 and payment was not received by March 26, the matter is simple for us. We don't need 14 months to determine that an invoice should have been paid.

During 14 months of waiting for a verdict, every seventh debtor disappears from the market along with your money.

Arbitration at LUA: How do we close disputes in 6 weeks?

Our process begins with the submission of a simple application. We do not require 20-page forms. A description of the situation and a copy of the contract with an arbitration clause is enough. In 2024, the average time from the first meeting to the final resolution in our facility was 43 days. This is a time in which, in a state court, you usually wouldn't even receive a notice of the case file number. We operate efficiently because we know that time is a specific operational cost for you.

At Lublin Union Arbitrage, there is no room for adjourning hearings because of a representative's cold. If one party cannot appear, we operate online or based on documents. An arbitration award has the same legal force as a judgment of a common court. After being granted an enforcement clause by the court – which is a formality usually lasting 21-28 days – you go with it straight to the bailiff. You save a year of your life and thousands of zlotys on lawyers who would have to go to ten hearings.

We close conflicts without court involvement because we believe that entrepreneurs prefer to earn money rather than fight for it in dusty corridors. Our team consists of 5 people who deal exclusively with commercial arbitration. We do not conduct divorce or criminal cases. We focus on numbers and delivery dates. If you are looking for a way to quickly recover liquidity, ask for a specific arbitration quote for your case. We respond within 5 hours on business days.