“Shall we file a class action lawsuit?” — Tatiana Tereshchenko for FederalPress about the losses of Russian companies because of Roskomnadzor
Russian companies affected by the massive blockages of Roskomnadzor may lose a billion dollars in a few months. The company-developer of Flexbby software came to this conclusion.
The company was proposed to form an operational headquarters to solve the problems of companies affected by blocking, and to introduce legislative amendments that will exclude the blocking of services unilaterally.
Tatiana Tereshchenko, head of the analytical department of «Prime Advice»:
Indeed, shall we file a class action lawsuit? It is possible that this will happen. But there are several considerations. Formal considerations. For filing a lawsuit is necessary, that harm has been caused to the group. Arbitration procedure code requires a minimum of 5 victims against a common defendant, the homogeneity of the matter in dispute, its establishment and equal protection (article 225.11 APC RF). This means that in addition to cooperation between the various companies affected by the blocking of resources, it is necessary not just to assume losses, but to calculate them and prepare the necessary calculations and evidence.
Considerations on the merits. Who is Roskomnadzor? It is the organ of state power. So if we're talking about compensation, we're talking about compensation for damage caused by unlawful actions of a public entity. So-called harm caused by acts of power-art. 1069 of the Civil code.
To date, class action is still rarely used in Russia. However, several plaintiffs may be involved in a civil case and several suits filed by different plaintiffs may be heard in the same civil case. They are usually used when the respondent has infringed on the rights of a large number of claimants. On condition of winning such a case, the amount is divided among all the members of the group in proportion to the size of the claims.