Collection of Debts Through the Court

One of the most common types of disputes between commercial organizations in Russia is disputes over the collection of debts due under contracts for work, supply, insurance, investment contracts and service contracts.

After the necessary preparatory steps comes the most important stage - the trial.

Depending on the selected order of consideration (general, simplified or writ proceedings), the terms of consideration of the dispute may vary from 10 days to 2 or more years. A lot depends on the category of your dispute, amount of claim, complexity of the case, preparation of documents, qualifications of representatives of both parties and the workload of the court in which the case is being considered.

For example, let’s consider a sort of ideal litigation on a claim for debt collection in amount of 1 million rubles due from an operating company:

1. Preparation and filing of a statement of claim.
2. Consideration by the court of the received documents within 5 days (according to the law), but more often up to 10 days (in fact). It ends with the publication of the ruling on the acceptance of the statement of claim and the appointment of a preliminary court session.
3. Within 1-2 months before the preliminary court session, the parties prepare for the case: collect the missing evidence, exchange reviews and additions on the case, involve third parties
4. In a preliminary court session, the court considers the case with the participation of the parties and other interested persons, resolves the petitions, determines the sufficiency of the evidence presented, and learns the opinion of the parties about the possibility of settling the dispute peacefully. If the parties intend to continue the litigation, the main court session is scheduled.
5. At the main court session, the judge considers the dispute with the participation of the parties, evaluates all the evidence and positions presented by this time, listens to the representatives and makes a decision on the case. However, judicial practice shows that the number of cases considered in one court session tends to a minimum.
6. Further, within 1 month from the date of the decision, the parties can make an appeal.
7. If the decision was not appealed, then it comes into legal force, and the plaintiff has the right to receive a writ of execution for the enforcement of the court decision.

Not surprisingly, a legal dispute to a stranger may seem like a daunting and extremely long-term prospect, which many do not want to resort to until the last moment. Sometimes this is fraught with missing the statute of limitations or the onset of the debtor's bankruptcy, which significantly reduces the chances of debt repayment.

TEAM always recommends paying attention not only to the selection of counterparties, but also to the selection of lawyers who must accompany any business activity. The sooner lawyers are involved in resolving the dispute, the higher the chances for resolving it in the most favorable way for you.