COURT DID NOT REJECT LIABILITY FOR MISLEADING ADVERTISING

Vilnius Regional Administrative Court (Court) rejected NT partneriai and Karolinos turas complaint against the Competition Council’s decision whereby the companies were fined for misleading advertising.

The Court stated that both companies Karolinos turas, which disseminated misleading advertising, and NT partneriai, which was responsible for running the advertising campaign, shall face liability for advertising hotel premises as residential real estate. The Court upheld EUR 8,688 fines imposed on the companies for the breach of the Law on Advertising.

Having conducted the investigation, in 2017 the Council found that Karolinos turas was only allowed to reconstruct the building into a hotel, however, the premises were advertised as residential. The fine was imposed not only on the real estate developer, but also on NT partneriai which knew or had to know that the purpose of the premises advertised during the campaign was non-residential.

The Court agreed with the Council that NT partneriai has to take legal responsibility for the infringement of the Law on Advertising as an advertising service provider.