EUR 200,000 worth of goods disappeared from a safety deposit box rented from a bank.
In view of this situation, the Court of Prahova held that the bank had breached the contractual terms and imposed on it, in addition to compensation for material damage, compensation for non-material damage, which the court assessed at EUR 10,000.
According to the facts as set out in the court decision, the victim had deposited goods worth EUR 200,000 in the safe deposit box, which disappeared due to the bank’s negligence.
The Prahova Court held that the bank had breached its contractual obligations, which led to the disappearance of goods worth EUR 200,000 stored in the safe deposit box. However, the court limited the liability of the bank to EUR 40,000, the rest of the damage consisting of cash in foreign currency, the storage of which in the safe deposit box was prohibited by contract. The bank was acquitted of liability in respect of these foreign currency cash amounts.
In determining the non-material damage, the Tribunal referred to the case-law of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which has established that there are no precise criteria for determining the amount of non-material damage, since it is necessary to make a complex assessment of the aspects in which the damage is manifested.
Among the criteria considered in determining the amount of the non-material damage are the negative physical and psychological consequences suffered, the intensity with which the consequences of the damage were perceived, the extent to which the person’s family, professional or social circumstances were affected.
It was also suggested that the court should seek a balance between the damage suffered and the compensation in order to avoid unjust enrichment, while avoiding the award of purely symbolic compensation.
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