Success of our client in a precedent-setting dispute concerning the liability of a bankruptcy administrato

The client was the administrator of the sanitation mass in the restructuring proceedings of the debtor – a manufacturing company. At the time of the opening of the sanitation proceedings, the company was indebted to the amount of more than PLN 100 million, which was mainly due to many years of negligence of the company’s management.

The client, as the entity that took over the management of the debtor, reached an agreement with the company’s creditors and led to the resumption of production, which allowed the debtor to generate a monthly profit to cover its current liabilities. However, due to the hostile actions of the debtor’s management, as well as unexpected expenses related to the servicing of old machinery that was part of the production line, the debtor’s situation deteriorated rapidly and it became necessary to look for investors interested in acquiring the debtor’s plants.

One of the creditors had cooperated with the company for many years, ended this cooperation and again approached the debtor in the process of restructuring itself to establish a new business relationship, at the same time offering it favourable settlement terms on a trade credit basis and agreeing to deferred payments.

The dispute concerned receivables arising from three invoices for several hundred thousand zlotys, which covered the delivery of materials for production. The invoices were not paid by the debtor due to a sudden deterioration in the company’s financial situation, including the cutting off of electricity supplies and the termination of a key factoring agreement by the factor, which ensured uninterrupted financing of the debtor’s operations. The creditor based its claim on Article 415 of the Civil Code in conjunction with Article 25 of the Restructuring Law.

The Regional Court in Poznań dismissed the claim in its entirety, finding that there was no culpable or even slight breach of duty on the part of the administrator. The court fully agreed with the arguments of the defendant’s attorneys, emphasizing that the restructuring administrator had a positive impact on the functioning of the company, the resumption of production, and the agreement with creditors who supported its actions during the restructuring proceedings. Furthermore, assessing the case in a broader context, the court found that the claimant was aware of both the legal and financial situation of the debtor, contributing to the damage caused and offering the entity undergoing restructuring increasingly favorable settlement terms, including an increase in delivery limits.

The client was represented by attorney Wojciech Bokina and attorney Paulina Sułkowska.

The judgment is not final.