District Court gave a permission to remove bankruptcy trustee from his office due to inaction

The Arbitration Court of the North-West District considered the case on the complaint of one of the debtor's creditors, who asked to declare the bankruptcy trustee’s inaction illegal and remove him from his post.  The courts of the first two instances found violations in the actions of the anti-crisis manager and satisfied the first part of the claim, however, the claim for the applicant's dismissal from his office was rejected.

The question concerned the bankruptcy of the company, within the framework of which a bankruptcy trustee was appointed. The results of his work did not suit one of the creditors, in connection with which a separate dispute arose.

Considering the case, the court of first instance, with the arguments of which the appeal agreed, found violations in the actions of the trustee, but considered them to be insufficient to remove him from his post.

Then the creditor applied to the district court, which expressed a different opinion on the issue.

The cassation recalled that the removal of the bankruptcy trustee from his position is an exceptional measure and is possible if the court has significant and reasonable doubts about the competence, honesty and independence of the anti-crisis manager.

In this case, one of the reasons for the dismissal was the manager's failure to act in the framework of challenging the debtor's contracts with counterparties. It was indicated by the district court that the lower courts should have studied this issue in detail. Now the creditor's claim will be reconsidered by the court of first instance (decision in case № A56-161800 / 2018 of September 17, 2021).