THE SUPREME COURT OF RUSSIA EXPLAINED THE PROCEDURE FOR INVOLVING THIRD PARTIES TO HELP THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE

The Supreme Court considered the complaint of one of the creditors, who remained dissatisfied with the rulings issued by the lower courts. The issue concerned the claim of the trustee for payment of remuneration to the organizer of the auction in excess of the established limit. The courts considered this measure to be correct, referring to the decision taken at the meeting of creditors, as well as to the market value of the organizer's services and the complex specifics of the lots sold. However, all these arguments did not seem convincing to the Supreme Court.

As part of the company's bankruptcy case, its trustee twice appealed to the court with similar claims. Having received a refusal for the first time, he did not stop there and tried again. The second claim was perceived by the courts differently and granted.

When considering the issue, the courts again considered the involvement of a third party organization in the bidding to be justified due to the specificity of the property being sold. What is more, they did not see an overstatement of the cost of services rendered by a third party and referred to the decision of the creditors to attract this company to the organization of the auction.

At the same time, the economic board recalled that if the limit of expenses established by law is exceeded, third parties can be involved only after the approval of such a measure by the arbitration court. In this case, the bankruptcy trustee needs to confirm not only the validity of such an attraction, but also the amount of expenses. The applicant, on the other hand, first attracted the third party and after that, he applied to the court with a claim for the payment due, in fact, giving no reasons for such an act.

As a result, the earlier court decisions were canceled, and the application was rejected (decision No. 305-ES18-24484 (12) of May 24, 2021).