tag: litigation

In a previous article, we analyzed the phenomenon where courts typically reduce the attorney fees awarded to the winning party. This essentially forces the winner to incur unjustified losses, indirectly causing market distortion. Now, the Supreme Court has responded to this phenomenon with a precedent-setting, binding decision. Let's first look at the key developments and then how this affects litigation strategy!

As technology advances, it becomes easier and easier to record any conversation. Today, anyone with a smartphone can easily record business meetings - even in secret. There are many reasons for making a secret recording: for some it may be a security measure to avoid disputes, for others it may be an ulterior motive to use it later. But is it legally permissible to make an audio recording in secret? And what are the consequences of using a secretly made audio recording in a civil or criminal case?

If you’ve never sued or been sued, you may be forgiven for thinking that the costs of the lawsuit are paid by the losing party. However, after a case is closed, the winner of the suit may easily find that its win was a Pyrrhic victory, and that it is left with substantial costs to shoulder, without compensation. What are the impacts of this on business and how should parties best manage the related risks?

Some of the more exotic means of evidence that we typically think can only exist in movies or in serious criminal cases can also be surprisingly useful in business. In everyday life, too, you can prevent serious inconvenience by hiring a private investigator in time, or even by a well-directed lie detector test. Zsolt Bodnár and Dr. Béla Balla of Hori-Zone Security helped us to get to the bottom of the subject.

There are many factors to be considered when determining the value of a property. Among many other things, features such as the view from the property or the natural light that enters the interior cannot be left out of account. It’s clear, then, that the sunset at Lake Balaton from our window adds a lot to the property, but it’s often unclear what we need to focus on before and during the building stage if we’re to avoid attracting the ire of our neighbours later on.

The new Civil Procedure Code), enacted almost 3 years ago, placed the conduct of proceedings on stricter foundations. As a visible result of this, the number of lawsuits has dropped dramatically in recent years: more than 20% fewer disputes have been filed with the district courts and around 50% fewer at the regional courts than before. Perhaps this is also the reason why, under a bill recently passed, the harsh rules that had seemed carved in stone are likely to be softened. 

For two years, new rules apply to proceedings at the ordinary courts, which make litigation a lot more difficult and formalised. As a result, lawyers are increasingly confronted with the question of whether the arbitration court or the ordinary court is more appropriate for ruling on any potential disputes. Of course, the time-worn answer is: it depends… But on what?

Most have heard of the difference between Anglo-Saxon case law and the continental courts – and perhaps that Hungary has so far firmly belonged to the latter camp. However, an amendment to the law that has recently been adopted represents a major step in the opposite direction – one that could result in thousands of Supreme Court rulings becoming precedents overnight.