LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Moritz Blasy, Nicolai Binkert, Simon Ott and Kathrin Binder, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Liechtenstein civil procedure law is not familiar with the concept of representative or collective actions. As a matter of Liechtenstein procedural law, a right may only be procedurally asserted by the person who is entitled to it as a matter of substantive law. Otherwise, the claim will be dismissed for lack of standing. There is the possibility of multiple parties appearing on one side of a dispute as provided in the Liechtenstein Civil Procedure Code; ie, as claimant or defendant in cases where multiple persons form a legal com- munity regarding the subject matter of the case (such as co-owners of an asset), or where multiple persons are entitled or liable to the same or similar legal and factual basis (for example, joint and several liability (a joinder of parties or Streitgenossenschaft )). However, in such cases, each of the parties litigates separately, and the actions of one party should, in principle, not affect the other parties. The court can also ex officio join multiple separate lawsuits in which the same claimant faces different defendants or in which different claimants face the same defendant, if it is to be expected that this will simplify or expedite matters or reduce the costs of the proceedings. Apart from that, the Liechtenstein Consumer Protec- tion Act permits certain consumer protection organi- sations to initiate lawsuits on behalf of individual con- sumers. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate Although there is no strict statutory obligation for law- yers to advise their clients of the potential costs of a lawsuit at the outset, it is common practice among Liechtenstein lawyers to do so.
ligence and if their admission would significantly delay matters. A claimant may abandon a lawsuit without waiving the underlying (substantive) claim only prior to the first hearing or, if the defendant does not appear, at the first hearing itself, at the latest. Thereafter, an aban- donment of the lawsuit by the claimant will constitute a waiver of the underlying (substantive) claim unless the counterparty expressly agrees otherwise. If a claim is declared withdrawn by the court for failure of the claimant to lodge security for costs, this is not considered abandonment within the aforementioned sense and, hence, does not constitute a waiver of the underlying claim. 3.5 Rules of Service It is the responsibility of the court to serve the state- ment of claim on the defendant. The court will do so once all formal requirements are fulfilled, and the claimant has paid the court fees. Service in Liechten- stein is usually done by registered mail with return receipt. Service on parties outside the jurisdiction is usually carried out via diplomatic channels or letters rogatory. Parties domiciled abroad can be ordered by the court to appoint an authorised recipient in Liech- tenstein, failing which service on them can be effected by depositing the relevant document with the court. 3.6 Failure to Respond If a defendant fails to appear at the first hearing despite having been properly served with the sum- mons, the claimant may apply for a default judgment. The court will enter judgment in favour of the claimant if the presented evidence does not obviously contra- dict the facts pleaded in the statement of claim, and if these facts support the remedy sought. Significantly, written submissions of the defendant submitted prior to the first hearing must not be taken into considera- tion by the court. A default judgment can be attacked in two ways, such as: • by means of an appeal to the Court of Appeal; or • an application for restitutio in integrum to the Dis- trict Court.
4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
While there is no formal pre-trial procedure in Liech- tenstein, there are several types of applications and motions which are usually dealt with at the outset of the proceedings before hearing the case on the mer-
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