12.10

2021

TEFFI Law Firm’s lawyers recovered debt in the amount of UAH 9,2 million in favor of the client Back

The client, an international distributor of chemical products, had a dispute with its counterparty – the buyer of the products, over the timeliness of payment for the delivered goods in the amount of UAH 9,2 million.

After 8 years of cooperation, the contractor asked the court to recognize the additional agreement on the method of delivery of goods as fictitious.

In the court of first instance and a court of appeal, the lawyers managed to restore business parity and declare the agreement legal. At the same time, a claim for debt collection, reimbursement of expenses, as well as interest (annual and for the use of trade credit) was filed. The court of first instance upheld the client’s claims and recoversd from the counterparty a debt for non-fulfillment of contractual obligations in the amount of UAH 9,2 million.

However, the court of appeal resorted to so-called “know-how” of the court practice – it completely ignored the Supreme Court’s practice on the priority of debt repayment and did not provide any assessment of the client’s evidence.

As a result, the decision of the court of first instance was overturned, based on the conclusion that the counterparty has no debt. Lawyers filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. The court overturned the illegal decision of the court of appeal and upheld the decision of the court of first instance.

The lengthy lawsuit ended with the restoration of the rule of law and the achievement of a positive result for the client.

The client’s lawsuit was handled by Andriy Ilyuk, Head of Dispute Resolution and Bankruptcy practice, and Bohdan Herasymyk, Senior Associate, leaded by Igor Kryzhanovsky, Managing Partner of the firm.