Regarding: Possibility of claim amendment in court proceedings
Partner: Dmitriy Titarenko
Court: Sevastopol Economic Court of Appeal
Date: December, 2009.

Download the complete text of the court decision (.pdf 3.54МB)

Comment: this court decision is of a particular interest as it was made based on the examination of claim, the subject and grounds of which were simultaneously amended by the Claimant in the course of court proceedings.

The Claimant was renting the premises from the Defendant for arrangement of his distribution point. Due to the rental fee indebtedness, the agreement was terminated, and the Renter informed the Claimant that his property in the rented premises would be detained until he repays his indebtedness.

The Claimant applied to court with the original claim, whereof the subject was recovery of one's property being in the unlawful possession of another. The grounds for claim were the unlawful detention of property by the Defendant. As the case was examined in court, a fire occurred in the building, which resulted in the destruction of all Claimant's property. Due to this, the Claimant submitted an application on claim amendment. The subject of the Claimant's new claim was the recovery of the amount of losses, and the grounds were the destruction of the property in question due to fire. While making its decision, the court concluded that article 22 of the Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine does not provide for the Claimant's right on simultaneous amendment of the subject and grounds of the claim. Similar legal views are specified in the letter of the Supreme Economic Court No. 01-8/1228 "On Some Matters regarding the Practice of Application of the Ukrainian CPC Regulations, Specified in the Notes of Commercial Court Work in 2005" dd. February 06, 2006. Based on the above, the court of appeal did not consider the Claimant's application on claim amendment and dismissed the original claim, as the subject of the claim was the property, which had been destroyed.