Confirmed: Grandi Stazioni unjustly demanded 1.25 billion CZK from České dráhy

The Municipal Court in Prague today upheld the judgment of the District Court for Prague 1, which dismissed the lawsuit filed by Grandi Stazioni Česká republika against České dráhy for payment of an amount exceeding CZK 1.25 billion. The claim concerned alleged damages arising from the non-extension of the lease of Prague’s Main Railway Station.

In August 2017, Grandi Stazioni filed a lawsuit against České dráhy, the Railway Infrastructure Administration (Správa železnic), and the Czech Republic. The alleged damage was said to have arisen from České dráhy’s refusal to grant the company an additional two years to complete the revitalization of Prague’s Main Railway Station. The claim was based on the assertion that Grandi Stazioni had a legitimate expectation that the lease agreement would be extended, and that České dráhy unjustifiably refused to do so. The largest portion of the amount claimed represented the potential profit the company could have earned if the lease relationship had actually been extended by 30 years.

“This complex dispute can be summed up in a simple question – whether České dráhy acted in good faith toward Grandi Stazioni or not. Today’s final ruling clearly confirms that České dráhy acted in good faith,” said Jiří Pour, attorney at the law firm CÍSAŘ, ČEŠKA, SMUTNÝ, who represented České dráhy in court.

“In the third of four disputes initiated by Grandi Stazioni Česká republika, the courts have now definitively confirmed that the law is on the side of České dráhy. These were not easy cases, and we are therefore very pleased that our work helped not only to protect our client’s interests but also to achieve general justice,” added Jaromír Císař, partner at the law firm CÍSAŘ, ČEŠKA, SMUTNÝ.