The Czech state must pay compensation to a family after a Kutná Hora-based bailiff, Veronika Jakubovská, carried out an unlawful eviction from a property in Prague 4.
According to reports from Novinky, Jakubovská evicted the woman, her brother, and her mother from the home following a private agreement with the family’s father, subsequently falsifying evidence and manipulating case files to cover the illegal procedure.
The woman has already secured several hundred thousand crowns for non-pecuniary damage. In a separate ongoing legal battle, she sought 2,5 milionu korun in damages for health-related injuries, citing persistent psychological trauma resulting from the forced removal.
The District Court for Prague 4 initially awarded the woman 515 tisíc crowns, a ruling later upheld by the Municipal Court in Prague. Following an appeal, the Supreme Court ruled in the woman’s favor, instructing lower courts to reconsider whether a higher compensation amount was warranted.
The Municipal Court subsequently increased the award by 150 tisíc korun. However, the Supreme Court criticized this decision as negligent. The municipal judges argued that while they recognized the bailiff’s misconduct, those actions had already been accounted for in the non-pecuniary damages and did not require further consideration regarding health-related claims.
The woman filed a second appeal with the Supreme Court, which once again found in her favor. A panel led by Judge Hana Polášková Wincorová criticized the Prague judges for reducing the claim on the grounds that the woman’s poor health had multiple causes beyond the eviction.
The Supreme Court clarified that if an incorrect official procedure serves as a substantial cause of damage, the state is liable for the entire consequence, regardless of other contributing factors. The court’s published verdict emphasized that when circumstances—such as the behavior of a bailiff—are worthy of special consideration, they must be factored into the compensation for each distinct type of injury.
The Supreme Court also said that lower courts had granted significantly higher health-related compensation to the woman’s brother for the same incident. When the woman pointed out this discrepancy, the Municipal Court ignored it, rendering its decision procedurally unreviewable.
The case has now been sent back to the Municipal Court in Prague, which is bound by the legal opinion provided by the Supreme Court in its latest ruling.
