On 2 February 2021, or LWW Łyszyk Wesołowski, acting on behalf of dozens of leading Polish fitness club operators, filed the first part of pre-litigation summonses to the State Treasury to unfreeze fitness industry and pay damages to the Prime Minister's Office. The summonses are a prelude to a class action lawsuit being prepared by LWW for the fitness industry.

Our actions are intended to express the fitness industry's opposition to the continuation of fitness bans without the simultaneous provision of appropriate support mechanisms. If activity bans - as the Minister of Health recently argued - are necessary to protect public health and maintain the viability of the healthcare system, then they should be implemented in conjunction with compensation, for those who are unable to operate under normal circumstances and suffer losses as a result of these bans.

Below is a selection of press releases on the above topic.

Rzeczpospolita 28/01/2021

https://www.rp.pl/Firma/301279880-Koronawirus-Firmy-chca-zeby-rzad-zaplacil-odszkodowania-za-lockdown.html 

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna 02/02/2021

https://www.gazetaprawna.pl/firma-i-prawo/artykuly/8082236,kilka-slow-o-senackim-kompromisie-dla-rzadu-i-branz-zamknietych-opinia.html 

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna 03/02/2021

https://biznes.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/8084476,branza-fitness-otwiera-sie-mimo-obostrzen-popyt-rosnie-stopniowo.html 

TVN, TVN 24 03/02/2021

https://fakty.tvn24.pl/fakty-po-poludniu,96/obostrzenia-branza-fitness-staje-przeciwko-skarbowi-panstwa,1047689.html 

Prawo.pl 03/02/2021

https://www.prawo.pl/biznes/branza-fitness-i-gastronomiczna-pozywa-skarb-panstwa-o,506222.html 

Polska Agencja Prasowa 03/02/2021

https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C807150%2Cdgp-silownie-odmrozone-popyt-rosnie-stopniowo.html 

Puls Biznesu 03/02/2021

https://www.pb.pl/silownie-odmrozone-popyt-rosnie-stopniowo-1107241 

Prawo.pl 04/02/2021

https://www.prawo.pl/biznes/jak-rzad-podejmuje-decyzje-o-obostrzeniach-i-jak-pomaga-firmom,506255.html 

Latest activities are at the same time part of a broader initiative to support fitness industry in the face of the crisis. LWW's activities in this regard include not only the preparation of a class action lawsuit, but also support for the Senate bill on compensation for closed industries. Independently, LWW supports individual fitness operators in projects related to the restructuring of their operations, in particular in lease renegotiations and litigation matters.

The initiative concerning the State Treasury's liability towards the fitness industry currently brings together more than 150 entrepreneurs who operate a total of nearly 450 clubs located throughout Poland. Tuesday's summonses concern some of the clubs gathered around this initiative. Further summonses are being prepared and will be submitted successively. All the above-mentioned activities are taking place in cooperation with the Polish Fitness Federation.