Supreme Court of Russia clarified what to do with the claim to return the leased asset in bankruptcy

The new review of the judicial practice of the Supreme Court of Russia provides clarifications on various aspects of law, including the sphere of insolvency.  Among the bankruptcy cases, special attention was paid to leasing obligations and actions that the parties can take in such a situation.

Clause 33 of the Review contains clarifications on the possibility of returning the leased asset back. The dispute arose over the property transferred by the lessor to the lessee in the event of the latter's insolvency that arose later. The lessor initiated a separate proceeding from bankruptcy, in the course of which he asked to return the leased asset to him.

The lower courts unanimously designated the admissibility of considering such a claim in a separate proceeding.

The motivation was that usually, after the introduction of bankruptcy proceedings, non-monetary claims of creditors, which are the property claims in nature, are transformed into monetary. However, there are exceptions - a number of claims of the owners of the disputed subject. Among them, in particular, a claim for the reclamation of property from someone else's illegal possession.

Despite the fact that the relations within the framework of the lease agreement are not directly named in the law, they have a general legal nature, since they pursue the same goal - the transfer of property to its owner. Consequently, the claim for the return of the leased asset upon termination of the contract is subject to consideration in the course of action proceedings outside the framework of the bankruptcy case, concluded the Supreme Court of Russia.