DIRECTOR OR MANAGER: THE COURT OUTLINED THE SPECIAL FEATURES OF PROVING IN RECOVERY OF DAMAGES

The case on the complaint of the manager against the decisions of the lower courts, which refused to satisfy his claim for the recovery of losses from the former director of debtor, was transferred to the Commercial District Court of Moscow.

The claims were based on the fact that the director had withdrawn funds in the amount of over 6 million rubles from the debtor's accounts. The money was received from several banks during the period when the manager performed his duties until the introduction of the bankruptcy proceedings against the debtor. At the same time, the head of debtor did not provide documents confirming the use of funds for the needs of the debtor.

Despite this, the court of the first instance indicated the lack of proof not only of the fact of causing losses to the debtor, but also of the causal relationship between the actions of the director and the adverse consequences.

The appeal supported the ruling and supplemented this position with the argument that there was no confirmation of spending of funds received by the director for personal needs.

At the same time, the director himself did not appear at the meeting, and did not indicate his position as well.

In this situation, the District Court reminded colleagues of the distribution of the burden of proof between the parties, emphasizing that it was up to the director to demonstrate what exactly and for what reason the funds were spent.

As a result, the manager's claim will now be reconsidered in the court of the first instance, taking into account the comments made by the district court (judgment in case No. A40-195286 / 19 of January 18, 2021).