chance of success
A class action lawsuit was filed in Moscow’s Khamovnichesky District Court by 20 Russians demanding 60 million rubles back from Netflix. as moral compensation for the unilateral decision of the video platform to cease its service in the territory of the Russian Federation. message about it seen some media outlets cited the words of lawyer Konstantin Lukoyanov, who volunteered to represent the victims in court.
In addition, on April 13, a corresponding entry was published on the website of the Khamovniki District Court. Listed as defendants are Entertainment Online Service LLC, a subsidiary of Netflix International BV and National Media Group, acting as the representative of the American online service in Russia.
Most of the lawyers socialbites.ca interviewed found the plaintiffs’ claims against Netflix reasonable and fair.
For example, Yevgeny Tsarev, director of RTM Group, a company specializing in forensic science and digital law, considers Netflix’s unilateral refusal to continue providing services as a direct violation of the Civil and Consumer Protection Act.
A similar opinion is shared by the head of the public organization “Public Consumer Initiative” for the protection of consumer rights, candidate of legal sciences Oleg Pavlov. It also states that plaintiffs have a good chance of getting a positive court decision in this case.
“In this case, we consider the plaintiffs’ chances high, as Netflix in Russia has Entertainment Online Service LLC, a formal legal entity to act as defendants. Payments were made in Russia through this company, so most likely it has the necessary funds to meet the needs of Russian citizens, ”said the author.
Pavel Katkov, founder of the Katkov and Partners law firm, also believes in the plaintiffs’ victory, but for a different reason.
“Now the Russian courts are tuned to protect the national interest, and a major case against a foreign service fits that concept,” the lawyer said.
On a stone will find a scythe
However, some experts do not have high expectations regarding the case under discussion. For example, Efim Kazantsev, member of the Legal Support Commission for the Digital Economy of the Moscow Branch of the Russian Bar Association (AJUR), calls it a public relations campaign of the Chernyshov, Lukoyanov and Partners law firm. its representative is Konstantin Lukoyanov, mentioned above.
“In this regard, success has already happened – lawyers received free advertising, many media wrote about them, and it is not so important what happens to the next case. In addition, it is not yet clear whether the application will be accepted by the court in general.”
A similar view is shared by Alexei Byrdin, director of the Internet Video Association. In addition, Netflix finds the essence of the plaintiffs’ claim false, as it warned the Russians about the termination and continued to serve until the end of the paid period.
“I think you could try suing for closing a bankrupt restaurant and not serving people who love to eat in,” he said.
Also, according to Byrdin, the prosecution may have trouble proving that Entertainment Online Service LLC was involved in Netflix’s decision to leave Russia.
“Yes, Netflix’s representative in Russia. However, the function of the organization has not yet been determined. The Roskomnadzor track record, of course, shows that the Online Entertainment Service owns Netflix, but I think we all understand that this is not actually the case. I think NMG’s “daughter” could withdraw from the process by showing that she did not and does not influence Netflix’s policy in Russia”,
said Birdin.
The National Media Group declined to comment.
looks a little
Regardless, all experts agreed that even in the event of a victory, the plaintiffs would not receive the requested compensation.
“On the one hand, I don’t believe in large amounts of compensation, given the practice. A more likely situation is that the amount of compensation does not even cover the fees in the claim. On the other hand, given the politicization of the claim, compensation may be substantial.”
– Evgeny Tsarev from RTM Group discusses.
According to him, the Russians had previously won lawsuits against foreign IT companies, but the amount of compensation was always significantly less than 60 million rubles.
“For example, in 2015 Anton Burkov, head of the European law department at the University of the Humanities in Yekaterinburg, accused Google of having their mail scanned by Google robots, like pen pals. Moscow City Court fully complied with the plaintiff’s claims and found Google infringing on the plaintiff. forced him to stop and pay himself compensation in the amount of 50 thousand rubles.
Efim Kazantsev from AJR also expressed his doubts about the amount of compensation claimed.
“Even dire cases associated with real suffering, serious injuries, or even the death of someone rarely recover more than a few hundred thousand rubles.
If we are talking about the moral harm of consumers who do not receive the service, then here we will talk about a maximum of several thousand rubles. Even if the court accepts the request for consideration, it can be assumed that if it is satisfied, the victims will be awarded 5-10 thousand rubles each. as moral compensation,” he said.
According to Kazantsev, the amount is 60 million rubles. it was chosen only to attract media attention.
Source: Gazeta
