A groundbreaking final court decision vs The National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) obtained in favor of an international bank in a high-profile dispute has received in-depth coverage on the news recently. The case was won before in the appeal stage on July 4, 2024 when the Bucharest Tribunal has issued a final ruling.
The court has endorsed the legal arguments for the annulment of the Minutes, as pleaded by our law firm, which continues to be a trailblazer in consumer protection matters. Dragne & Asociatii is assisting other few banks sanctioned by ANPC in similar litigation cases in order to set aside control minutes.
This case has attracted significant public interest this year due to its potential economic ramifications. Notably, this marks the first major victory for banks in a series of high-stakes litigations against the authority, which had previously imposed fines totaling 950,000 lei on a total of 19 banks for alleged similar illegal actions, along with additional measures against them.
The core of this recent dispute involved the annulment of Minutes issued by the control agents of the aforementioned authority. These Minutes had sanctioned our client for alleged deceptive commercial practices related to the calculation of monthly installments and a supposed breach of Law no. 363/2007. The litigation, set for trial in November 2023, concluded with the first court ruling entirely in our client’s favor. This ruling annulled the Minutes and the sanctions imposed by The National Authority for Consumer Protection.
This achievement is credited to our dedicated team: Ion Dragne, Andreia Oana Dumitrescu, Raluca Gune, and Lucian Epure.