Summary
The plaintiff filed an application for maintenance. Her husband lives in Italy and is Italian. The defendant stated that the application should be rejected. He pointed out that he had earlier brought the proceedings relating to separation before an Italian court. He also stated that the plaintiff could have filed an application for maintenance during the separation proceedings before the Italian court. The Polish court stated that, according to Article 13 par. 1 of the Maintenance Regulation when the related actions are pending in the courts of different Member States, any court other than the court first seised may stay its proceedings. The Polish court stated that it was possible to file an application for maintenance during the separation proceedings brought before the Italian court. As per Article 13 par. 2 of the Maintenance Regulation, the Polish court decided to decline its jurisdiction, because both the actions, for maintenance and for separation are, according to the court, related; in view of Article 13 par. 3 of the Maintenance Regulation.
The plaintiff appealed against the decision of the court of the first instance. The court of second instance agreed with the court of the first instance. It stated that the objective of the provisions cited per Article 13 of the Maintenance Regulation, is to avoid the issue of irreconcilable judgements in separate proceedings.