The court stood up for a bona fide buyer of the bankrupt’s real estate

The Arbitration Court of the North-Western District considered the complaint of a citizen who purchased an apartment from an individual who was in the process of debt restructuring.  The courts of two instances, at the initiative of a bankruptcy trustee, considered the transaction invalid, but the district did not agree with such a position.

The property in question was purchased by the applicant with proceeds from the sale of three other real estate objects, including a plot of land.  According to him, the seller assured that he was not bankrupt, and a professional market participant, who did not voice any difficulties, took part in the transaction,.

The buyer himself did not have special knowledge in the field of buying real estate, and the terms of payment for the apartment that confused the lower courts did not arouse suspicion in him.

At the same time, the sale and purchase agreement was considered an invalid transaction by the court of first instance and the court of appeal, since it was made at the time of bankruptcy proceedings of the debtor, without obtaining the consent of a bankruptcy trustee.  In addition, under the terms of the contract, most of the funds were to go to the seller's wife and only less than half to himself.  While challenging the agreement, the trustee also pointed to the bad faith of the buyer.

However, the district court noted that the buyer of property had no special knowledge in this area, he bought the apartment for himself and his family, where he moved after signing the deal.  No evidence of his bad faith was presented to the court.  As a result, the decisions of the lower courts were canceled, and the case will be reconsidered in the court of first instance (decision in case No. А56-87250/2017 dated February 14, 2022).