The grounds for postponing a court hearing in an arbitration court are the circumstances provided for by the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, due to which the proceedings must be suspended until they are eliminated.
In practice, adjournment of a meeting is used by the parties:
- to agree and resolve the dispute independently (without court or with the assistance of court);
- to gain time to resolve problems that arise during the process;
- to stall for time using it as part of a business strategy.
Legal grounds for adjourning a meeting
They are provided for in Art. 158 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, and these include the following circumstances:
- The participant in the process did not appear in court, and there is no evidence that he was properly notified of the place and time of the hearing.
- The parties to the proceeding jointly request the postponement of the proceedings to independently resolve the dispute, including with the assistance of a court or mediator.
- A party to the proceedings requests a postponement of the proceedings because she or her representative cannot appear in court for a valid reason.
- A party or parties to the proceeding request an adjournment of the proceedings due to the need to present additional evidence.
- The case cannot be considered due to the failure of any of its participants or other persons (witness, expert, translator, etc.) to appear in court.
- Technical problems have arisen that are preventing the case from being processed.
Any of the grounds does not apply unconditionally. The final decision to postpone the proceedings rests with the court. He issues an appropriate ruling, which, among other things, indicates the period for which the proceedings are postponed. This period cannot exceed one month. If the parties request to postpone the proceedings due to the intention to independently resolve the dispute, such period cannot exceed 60 days.
Appeal any ruling of the arbitration court
The court will postpone the hearing due to the appeal of certain rulings. For example:
- a determination to transfer the case according to jurisdiction or to refuse to transfer the case (Part 3 of Article 39 of the APC);
- on the refusal to satisfy the request for the entry into the case of a co-plaintiff, co-defendant (part 7 of article 46 of the Arbitration Procedure Code);
- third parties with or without independent requirements (part 4 of article 50, part 3.1 of article 51 of the APC);
- on refusal to satisfy a request to combine cases into one proceeding or separate claims into separate proceedings (Part 7, Article 130 of the APC).
This method is the most effective. An appeal against a ruling will not allow consideration of a case whose materials have been sent to a higher authority.
Adjournment as part of case management strategy
For certain reasons, a defendant (usually) or a plaintiff (rarely) may use the adjournment procedure as a type of litigation strategy or as part of such a strategy. In fact, this approach, of course, is an abuse of law. But if everything is done procedurally correctly and convincing arguments are presented, then formally the court will have no reason to refuse to postpone the trial. Moreover, it is possible that the court will not even suspect such goals.
Why are the parties delaying the process? The goal, of course, is always the same - to get time to solve some problems:
- The parties often drag out the process in the hope of “wearing down” the other party. The litigation itself can negatively affect both the reputation of the company or individual entrepreneur and their business activities. If the trial lasts a long time, the negative consequences and the effect from them last a long time. All this can force the opponent to either agree to the demands or make an unfavorable compromise.
- Defendants often use delaying the process to obtain a kind of deferment of fulfillment of obligations. Sometimes it is more profitable to drag out the litigation and not pay the bills than to quickly lose the case and be forced to withdraw money from circulation to pay off the court award.
- If the defendant predicts a loss, then it is likely that he may delay the process to complete transactions and operations, transfer or withdraw assets.
The above reasons are the main ones, but far from the only ones. However, something else is important - delaying the process is a fairly popular strategy. At the same time, as a rule, postponing the process is only part of a larger game in which the whole range of ways to delay the case is used.
Examination of the petition on its merits
The request to postpone the trial is considered during the hearing. The petition is read and studied, as are the documents attached to it. Then the information is announced to those present, who have the right to express their opinion on the advisability of meeting the demands put forward. The case is considered in the classical manner. However, it may be postponed for other reasons. If the petition is granted, a court ruling is issued. The document reflects when the case will be reviewed. Notices will be sent to all parties to the proceedings. If other persons visited the authorized body on the appointed day, they have the right to file another petition until the hearing is declared completed.
How to postpone a meeting
If the initiative comes from one of the parties, it is necessary to prepare a motion to postpone the proceedings.
The request can be made orally - it will be recorded in the minutes. But in most cases, the petition is prepared in writing - this is a universal option that is suitable for most reasons. Its advantage is that you do not have to appear in court in person. The petition is prepared in free form, but a number of rules must be followed:
- The addressee of the petition is the court that is considering the case.
- In the header of the petition, it is advisable to indicate the details of the participants in the process and the number of the arbitration case - as is done in all procedural documents sent to the court.
- In the text of the petition, it is extremely important to convincingly state the reason for postponing the proceedings and justify it - to provide evidence of the existence of such a reason. The courts analyze this point very carefully. The reason must be valid, and together with the basis for postponing the hearing, it must look so that the court has no doubt about the need to grant the petition.
- Justification for the application – annexes thereto. Without this, it is almost impossible to convince the court.
Download the petition to postpone the court hearing (sample)
The means to postpone a hearing depend on the situation and the basis that best fits the situation.
The most frequently mentioned are:
- illness, business trip, participation in another court hearing, etc.;
- the need to obtain and (or) present additional evidence.
The first grounds (reasons) are usually not difficult to confirm. It is enough to submit the relevant documents. The second one is more difficult. It is not enough to cite necessity. It is necessary to indicate to the court exactly what evidence is planned to be presented, what is its importance, how it will affect the process, and why it could not be presented earlier. The court will definitely analyze all this.
It is also advisable to indicate in the petition the period for which the proceedings need to be postponed, but within the limits permitted by the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. If this is not done, the court will set a period at its discretion.
Preparing a motion is an active way to obtain a stay of proceedings. Relying on the decision of the court itself is not the best option. Yes, circumstances may develop in such a way that the court will be forced to consider the issue of adjourning the hearing. Moreover, one can contribute to the creation of such circumstances. But in this case, you will have to rely on the court, and it may ignore the circumstances. For example, you may not appear at the hearing and expect that the proceedings will be postponed. But in this case, there is a high probability that the court, having established proper notice to the parties to the process, will simply continue the hearing without the plaintiff or defendant. The court has every right to do this.
Filing a motion to postpone a court hearing
The procedure for submitting an application to the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation is regulated in Part 1 of Art. 159. It provides three options:
- In writing addressed to the court, directly through the secretary, or through the office of the arbitration court.
- In electronic form (if the applicant has an electronic signature).
- Orally, during a conversation with a judge or at a court hearing. An oral petition must be reflected in the minutes kept by the court clerk.
Before deciding to consider motions submitted orally, when other participants in the process are present, the judge has the right to listen to their opinions and objections.
Sample application form
A written petition is drawn up in accordance with the requirements for business documents (GOST R 6.30-2003) “Unified documentation systems...” and section 2 of Order No. 23 of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated 02/04/2016.
Files for download:
Abuse of right
In the process of solving the problem of how to postpone a court hearing in arbitration proceedings, you must definitely think about whether the court will consider this an abuse of law.
Against the backdrop of the fact that plaintiffs and defendants often artificially delay the process, courts are increasingly and more meticulously evaluating any attempts to postpone, reschedule, or suspend the process.
What may be considered an abuse of right and a fine imposed:
- Repeated failure to appear in court for the same reasons or without notifying the court of the reasons.
- Filing a motion to postpone the process without providing evidence of the existence of grounds.
- Repeated postponement of the process under the same or similar pretexts, where a kind of system of certain actions is seen.
- Taking an excessively long time to collect evidence or indicating the need to collect evidence that could well have been obtained in advance and presented during the trial.
- Constant attempts to delay the process using various methods, not just postponing the meeting. For example, a party may submit a flurry of various petitions and statements - recusal of a judge, appointment of various examinations, calling witnesses, filing a counterclaim, changing requirements, requesting evidence, etc.
If a party has asked to postpone the court hearing 1-2 times and has well argued the request, then this is unlikely to be seen as an abuse of right. But if this happens regularly and the process has clearly stalled, then the court will definitely pay attention to this.
We cannot exclude the possibility that the other side of the process will begin to use countermeasures. She has the right to object to the granting of the motion to postpone the proceedings, as well as other motions and statements of the opponent. She may insist that the proceedings continue without the participation of the other party to the case or without additional evidence. You also need to be prepared for this. It is not enough to convince the court - you need to make sure that the opponent’s arguments are weaker.
Apply for the appointment of an expert examination in the arbitration court
When a forensic examination is ordered, court hearings are repeatedly postponed. This is due to the fact that you need to get answers from expert institutions about their readiness to conduct research, select an institution, transfer documents to it, and receive results. After this, the court must give the parties an opportunity to present their positions.
After receiving the results of the examination, the party who does not agree with them often files a petition to appoint a repeat, additional or comprehensive examination. If the petition is granted, the hearing will also be postponed.
The court postpones the hearing if it concludes that the examination will take a short time. In other cases, it suspends the proceedings.
Term and order
The procedure for rescheduling proceedings in a civil case is as follows:
- The interested party files a motion requesting that the case be adjourned.
- If the opponent has objections, then they are also drawn up in writing and attached to the case.
- The judge reviews the documents and makes a ruling.
- The parties are notified of the next meeting date.
- The applicant is notified if a negative decision is made on his application.
Attention! There is no state fee for filing an application to adjourn the meeting.
If the petition is granted, the court issues a ruling indicating the reasons for the postponement, the measures taken and the date of the new hearing. A motion for adjournment must be made before the commencement of the proceedings or during the proceedings, before the officer makes a final decision.
The decision to postpone the meeting cannot be appealed to the appellate court, since it does not disrupt the progress of the case (Article 331 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). The terms of adjournment are regulated by the Civil Code. According to the law, the statement of claim must be considered no later than 2 months after receipt by the official.
However, the regulations do not indicate how many times a meeting can be postponed. The hearing is postponed until the circumstances preventing its consideration are eliminated, but not more than 60 days.
The transfer of the court to the defendant’s place of residence is carried out in accordance with Art. 33 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The interested party must file a petition. Attached to it are documents confirming the defendant’s residence at a specific address (registration, rental agreement, etc.).
How to make a petition
An application to postpone a court hearing does not have a uniform form.
It must contain the following items:
- full name of the court;
- information about the plaintiff and defendant;
- a brief description of the circumstances;
- grounds for adjourning the meeting;
- applications.
- The date of its preparation is written on the document. The applicant puts his personal signature at the end.
Download a sample request to postpone the court hearing
