Supreme Court of Russia indicated the right of a party to refuse the complaint

The Supreme Court considered the case within the framework of the insolvency of a legal entity.  The bankruptcy of the company ended with the conclusion of a settlement agreement, the decision on the approval of which the bank tried to challenge.  Having reached the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the appealer decided to drop the complaint, but two other participants in the process disagreed with this.

When considering the cassation appeal, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation received a petition from the initiator of the process to waive the claims.

Supporting the position of the bank, two other legal entities expressed objections to the acceptance of the procedural refusal, citing the fact that in such a case, the rights and interests of other persons would be violated.

However, the economic board, having considered the circumstances of the case, accepted the waiver of claims, referring to a number of circumstances.

First of all, the trio of judges recalled that the legal entities that disputed and supported the complaint themselves did not participate either in the discussion of the terms of the settlement agreement by the creditors, or in the court hearings of the first instance, during which it was approved. They could not present valid reasons for such passivity to the court.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recalled the principle of optional procedural relations in arbitration proceedings.

It means that each participant in the proceedings is free to manage his rights and obligations, which means that no one has the right to force the cassator to support the complaint, which he decided to refuse (decision in case № 305-ES21-8059 of December 28, 2021).