Success of the Law Firm’s client – a final judgment in favor of the administrator of the sanitation estate

In February 2020, the Court of Appeal in Poznań dismissed the appeal filed by a retail chain, thereby upholding a judgment awarding several hundred thousand Polish zlotys to the administrator of the restructuring estate of company A sp. z o.o.

Company A had concluded several contracts with the retail chain under which it delivered its products. Due to financial difficulties, in May 2018, the court opened restructuring (sanation) proceedings for Company A. As of the opening date of the restructuring proceedings, the retail chain owed the company several hundred thousand zlotys. After the commencement of the restructuring, the retail chain began imposing contractual penalties on Company A and offsetting them against its receivables.

As part of the restructuring plan, the court-appointed administrator applied to the supervising judge in August 2018 for permission to withdraw from the contracts with the retail chain, effective retroactively from the opening date of the proceedings in May 2018. The supervising judge granted consent to withdraw from the contracts in December 2018.

Due to the non-payment of the receivables, the administrator filed a lawsuit against the retail chain. In the proceedings, the retail chain argued that it had imposed penalties and offset them after the opening of the restructuring proceedings. The court upheld the administrator’s claim, stating that since the administrator had withdrawn from the contracts with the retail chain effective as of May 2018, the chain could not impose contractual penalties at a time when the agreements were no longer in force. Consequently, the offset statements were deemed ineffective.

At the same time, the Regional Court in Poznań stated:

“In the course of these proceedings, the court may not assess the validity or correctness of the supervising judge’s decision [regarding consent to withdraw from the contracts with the retail chain – own note]. This decision is final and binding in these proceedings. It should be noted that the defendant had the right to challenge that decision. The court may only assess whether the scope of the withdrawal, as indicated in the plaintiff’s statement, complies with the supervising judge’s decision, whether it was signed by an authorized person, and whether it was delivered to the defendant. In this respect, the defendant raised no objections; therefore, the withdrawal statement must be considered fully effective.”

The Court of Appeal in Poznań fully agreed with this interpretation. The judgment is final and binding. The client was represented by attorney-at-law Kaja Buczkowska, legal counsel Wojciech Bokina, and legal counsel Mariusz Pniewski.