COURTS USE A "SPECIAL APPROACH" TO BANKRUPTCY OF CITIZENS FROM BORDER TERRITORIES

COURTS USE A "SPECIAL APPROACH" TO BANKRUPTCY OF CITIZENS FROM BORDER TERRITORIES

COURTS USE A "SPECIAL APPROACH" TO BANKRUPTCY OF CITIZENS FROM BORDER TERRITORIES
The practice of arbitration courts shows the specific application of the regulatory framework in bankruptcy cases of citizens living on the Russian border territories. Experts note that courts are increasingly referring to the exclusivity of situations and the social policy of Russia, removing certain property from the bankruptcy estate.

In such cases, it is difficult for creditors to expect that the debts of bankrupts can be covered by special payments that the authorities issue to residents of the Chernozem region in case of forced relocation from border lands. Payments to servicemen participating in a Special Military Operation are excluded from the competitive mass, since the arbitration considers them targeted, associating them with an increased risk to life and health.

As Kommersant notes, several similar insolvency cases of residents of the Belgorod region have been made public over the past two months. In each of them, we are talking about property that bankrupt citizens manage to keep in ownership, referring to its "illiquidity" or difficulties with the possibility of its implementation.

On August 14, 2023, the Belgorod Arbitration judge Andrey Pereverzev issued a Ruling on the bankruptcy case of Vanush Kurekhyan (No. A08-12298/2022). Its full text was made public on August 21. At the request of a citizen, social payments in the amount of 60 thousand rubles were excluded from the bankruptcy estate.

Kuryokhyan received most of the amount (50 thousand) in connection with the partial loss of property, and the rest – in connection with the forced relocation from his former place of residence due to the shelling of Novaya Tavolzhanka. And although the law states that the maximum size of the property excluded from the bankruptcy estate should not exceed 10 thousand, the judge referred to the position of the Constitutional Court and the policy of the Russian Federation as a social state.

In the bankruptcy case of Vadim Sizov (No. A08-8037/2022), Judge Olga Bugaeva granted the petition of the financial manager, who asked not to include in the bankruptcy estate a part of the land plot in the territory coming under fire. Its cadastral value is 21 686.2 rubles. According to the manager, it is impractical to put it up for auction, given the costs of holding them. The definition of the AU was made public on July 20.

Experts call this practice of excluding real estate "politicized". With the tacit consent of creditors, the court actually relies on economic considerations and applies article 205 of the relevant law, which became invalid in 2015. Although not calling the property "illiquid", the court refused to assess the real value of the land, relying on its cadastral valuation.


01.09.2023