DISTRICT COURT DECLARED THE RIGHT OF CREDITORS TO CONTROL THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE

DISTRICT COURT DECLARED THE RIGHT OF CREDITORS TO CONTROL THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE

DISTRICT COURT DECLARED THE RIGHT OF CREDITORS TO CONTROL THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE
The issue of the possibility of creditors’ control over the actions of bankruptcy trustee was considered within the framework of the insolvency case of the debtor. At the same time, the opinions of the judges turned out to be different, and the district court put an end to the case, having agreed with the court of first instance.

The issue concerned the inaction of a bankruptcy trustee, who did not take any action to convene a meeting to approve the cost estimate for the insolvency procedure.
The applicants demanded to declare this illegal and force the trustee to initiate a new meeting to consider the urgent issue.

The court of first instance agreed with the applicants, having indicated that the formed committee of the bank's creditors was inactive, and the court considered it possible to transfer the issue of considering the estimates to the competence of the creditors' meeting.

The appeal, in turn, dismissed the applicants' claims on formal grounds. The board pointed out that creditors simply did not have enough votes to submit requests to initiate a meeting.

However, the district court did not agree with such a decision, having indicated that in the situation under consideration, creditors simply did not have the opportunity to protect their interests. The court of first instance indicated that the estimate presented by the trustee has not been approved, and no action has been taken to discuss its new provisions.
Consequently, the creditors had the right to control the actions of a trustee, and rejection of their claim on formal basis should be considered illegal.
The district court recalled that legal regulations restrict individual creditors from appealing to the trustee. They are implemented to deter abuse by unscrupulous individuals. At the same time, in the case under consideration, ten creditors filed one claim at once, without having any other way to protect their legal rights and interests (resolution of September 7, 2021 in case ¹ A56-52798 / 2016).

13.09.2021