Almost a year of work of the lawyers of the Attorneys’ Association Modus Zilver in the business dispute on the return of funds was crowned with success: according to the results of the decision of the Central Economic Court of Appeal, case No. 904/393/22 was won.
Short case description: Plaintiff (LLC) transferred funds to Defendant (LLC) according to the invoice, which indicated goods that were not ordered by Plaintiff. Goods (neither those indicated on the invoice nor those that the Plaintiff wanted to order were delivered).
Moreover, the Plaintiff negotiated with the individual entrepreneur (Ukrainian “FOP”) and discussed the terms of the supply agreement with the FLP. The LLC (Defendant) was not mentioned anywhere.
Appeal (including with a claim ) to the Defendant did not give the desired result.
The claims were based on Art. 1212 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (groundless acquisition of property) and pursued the goal of returning funds.
Court of First Instance dismissed the claim. The court substantiated its position by the fact that a contractual relationship between the Plaintiff and the Defendant has developed, and therefore Art . 530, 693 of the Civil Code of Ukraine should apply, and not Art. 1212 Civil Code of Ukraine.
Court of Appeal agreed with the position of our lawyers and provided a detailed justification for the application of Art. 1212 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, indicating that the agreement between the parties was not concluded, and the Defendant received the money without any reason. The reasoning of the court is useful for lawyers who deal with economic disputes, however, as well as civil (economic) relations in general.