As part of the arbitration case, the defendant must send the court a response to the claims made by the plaintiff. You can voluntarily leave your response only to the plaintiff’s appeal or cassation complaint. What is a response to a statement of claim to an arbitration court, in what form it is drawn up and within what time frame it must be sent, is described below in the article.
When to file an objection
The civil process is adversarial in nature, so each party must reasonably defend its position.
From the moment the statement of claim is accepted and the corresponding ruling is made by the court, the defendant has the right to express his position on the case, which is one of the tools for protecting his interests in court. At the legislative level, there are no obstacles to considering a case if the defendant’s position is not provided: the court considers the case on the basis of available evidence and arguments. The defendant should always use this method of expressing his position. At the end of 2021, changes were made to the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation to clarify the question of whether it is necessary to send objections to the claim to the plaintiff in civil proceedings: now such an obligation, as in the arbitration process, is assigned to the defendant. Related norms of law that previously affected this process have undergone changes (part 4 of article 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, part 2 of article 150 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
To make your claim more convincing and help solve the problem, study court decisions on similar cases. The database of judicial practice in ConsultantPlus will help you find them (get free access to it by clicking on the link below). The database contains decisions of all Russian courts, and the search is as simple as in Yandex. Be sure to refer in the text to those cases that the court decided “in your” favor.
When may this document be required?
Litigants have the right to file motions in any situation where they disagree with the provisions of a response filed by another party. The plaintiff will be able to file a response to the defendant's objection only after the defendant has already submitted his objection to the court. The same applies to the defendant: an objection to the plaintiff's withdrawal can only be provided when the document has already been submitted to the court.
The most common situations when you need to file a petition:
- The defendant provided false information in the objection he provided; for this reason, the plaintiff wants to file a petition with his arguments.
- The plaintiff partially or fully agrees with the information provided in the defendant's objection. And in this regard, he wishes to explain this information to the court from his point of view.
- The defendant does not agree with the demands made and wishes to express his position.
During the court hearing, the statement of claim and clarifications to it will be considered first. But the objection to recalling the defendant to arbitration (a sample is at the end of the article) will also not go unnoticed.
Deadlines for submission
The document is submitted before the court makes a decision on the case. There are no time limits established at the legislative level. It should be borne in mind that the document is provided taking into account the time that is necessary for other parties and the court to familiarize themselves so that they can express their position on the case.
If the defendant’s objections are submitted on the day of the decision, when all the main circumstances of the case were known, the court may refuse to accept it, citing abuse of law. Then the decision is made based on the evidence available in the case. There is no answer to the question of how to file an objection to a statement of claim in the legally established norms, therefore the procedure for sending documents is determined by the choice of the filing party:
- through the court office;
- by mail with acknowledgment of delivery.
If the second option is selected, you must provide proof of mailing or return receipt. In this case, we recommend making an inventory of the contents of the shipment. This way you will confirm that the documents you are referring to were sent, and the other party had the opportunity to review them.
Article 131 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation establishes the possibility of filing an objection by filling out a form posted on the official website of the arbitration court. Currently, it is possible to send an objection in the form of an electronic image of a document. For this purpose, an objection to the claim of the Code of Civil Procedure is submitted through the state automated system “Justice”.
REVIEW to the statement of claim (for the main court hearing scheduled for 12/07/09 at 10.15)
Full description
To the judge ______________
Arbitration Court of Moscow
——————————————————————
/115191, Moscow, Bolshaya Tulskaya st., 17/
Plaintiff:
JSC "C" Postal address: ________________________________
——————————————————————— Defendant :
OJSC "T"
/Representative postal address: ________________
____________________________________________
Case No. _______________________
REVIEW
for a statement of claim
(for the main court hearing scheduled for 12/07/09 at 10.15)
OJSC “C” filed a claim with the Moscow Arbitration Court against OJSC “T” to collect the debt from the Defendant under subcontract agreement No. 55 dated February 1, 2006 in the amount of 2,552,222.24 rubles.
(two million five hundred fifty two thousand two hundred twenty two rubles. 24 kopecks), including the amount of the principal debt for the work performed on the project “Reconstruction of an administrative building” in the amount of 2,016,430.02 rubles, the amount of interest for the use of other people’s funds - 535,792 .22 rubles, expenses for paying the state duty in the amount of 24,261.11 rubles. The Defendant does not agree with the Plaintiff's claims for the following reasons. On February 1, 2006, subcontract agreement No. 55 was concluded between the Plaintiff (OJSC “C”), the subcontractor, and the Defendant (OJSC “T”), the general contractor. According to the terms of the above agreement, the Subcontractor undertakes to perform a set of plumbing and electrical installation works at the FSUE “T” Facilities (Appendix No. 1 to the agreement). According to clause 2.1 of the Agreement, the price of the work was 90,950,000 rubles including VAT. The contract on behalf of the general contractor was signed by the manager of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "T" Sergeev V. Yu. However, the Certificates of Completion of Work (KS-2) and certificates of cost (KS-3) were signed by the Head of SU-336 Mirny N. G. There is no clause in the terms of the contract , according to which work can be accepted by the Head of SU-336 or another representative of the Defendant’s branch. According to the current legislation, work for third parties has the right to be accepted by an authorized person, whose powers must be confirmed by relevant documents (power of attorney). The plaintiff did not provide evidence in the case file that the trust issued a power of attorney in the name of Mr. N.G. Mirny. and whether he has the authority to sign Certificates of Completion of Work and KS-3 certificates. Accordingly, the Plaintiff did not prove that on the part of the Defendant, the execution of the above-mentioned documents (Certificates of Completion of Work and Forms KS-3) confirming its execution was completed at the level of an authorized person.
By virtue of Article 65 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, each party participating in the case must prove the circumstances to which it refers as the basis for its claims and objections.
The defendant believes that the Head of SU-336 Mirny N.G. did not coordinate with FSUE “T” the acceptance of the work performed and the signing of the KS-3 Acts and certificates, since he acted without a power of attorney from the trust. SU-336 is not an independent legal entity and cannot independently act as a party to the transaction. In accordance with Part 1 of Article 183 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in the absence of authority to act on behalf of another person or when such authority is exceeded, a transaction is considered to be concluded on behalf and in the interests of the person who made it, unless the other person subsequently directly approves the transaction. Thus, Certificates of completed work and KS-3 certificates are considered signed on behalf and in the interests of the person who performed it (clause 1 of Article 183 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Accordingly, the work accepted under the Certificates of Completion of Work and KS-3 certificates, in the opinion of the Defendant, is not handed over to an authorized person. In accordance with Article 53 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a legal entity acquires civil rights and assumes civil responsibilities through its bodies acting in accordance with the law, other legal acts and constituent documents. Since the Respondent did not delegate the authority to sign documents to Mr. N.G. Mirny, the latter did not have the right to sign them. In addition, the Defendant believes that the Plaintiff missed the statute of limitations for filing claims for payment under Agreement No. 55 dated February 1, 2006. According to Art. 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “The general limitation period is established at three years.” The subcontract agreement was signed on February 1, 2006. Acts of completed work and KS-3 certificates are dated 2006, namely: - Act dated 02/28/2006; — KS-3 from February 2006; — Act dated April 28, 2006; -KS-3 dated April 28, 2006; -Act of August 31, 2006; — Act dated August 31, 2006; -Act of August 31, 2006; - KS-3 dated August 31, 2006. Moreover, the statement of claim from OJSC “C” was sent to the Arbitration Court of Moscow on September 1, 2009, as evidenced by the postmark on the envelope and the list of enclosed documents (case sheet 90- 91
)
Since the statute of limitations for the stated claims expired on August 31, 2009, the Defendant claims that the Plaintiff missed the statute of limitations, which, according to Art.
199 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, is the basis for refusal of the claim. Based on the above and in accordance with Art.
131 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, we ask that the claims be completely rejected. The power of attorney of the defendant's representative is available in the case materials. 12/03/2009 Representative of OJSC “T” (by power of attorney dated 09/08/2009) _____________
The difference between an objection and a revocation and a counterclaim
Despite the similar legal nature of these concepts, these two documents are different. The main criterion for delimitation is the scope of application: the objection is filed in accordance with civil proceedings; the review is provided in accordance with the arbitration process. There are no differences in the structure, order of presentation and purpose of the trial.
Both documents have different legal natures and therefore are not identical concepts. The main differences are as follows:
- a response to a claim, unlike a counterclaim, does not have an independent legal requirement;
- The procedure for filing a counterclaim has a more complex mechanism and requires payment of a state fee.
The plaintiff may send his explanations regarding the defendant’s objections received. The form of this document is not approved by government agencies, but the general rules for the execution of procedural acts are observed in relation to it. The plaintiff's use of such a participation tool confirms in writing its disagreement with the position expressed by the defendant. Such a document will be useful if the plaintiff disagrees with the decision and appeals it. During an appeal, the court considers all documents provided in the first instance.
What to write in a document
The Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation does not establish separate requirements for an objection; the Civil Procedure Code only mentions the possibility of providing such an act.
The applicant briefly and clearly states how he sees the controversial situation and on what rules of law he bases his position.
Build sentences so that they do not look complicated and can be understood by anyone. State the main points in paragraphs and do not write everything in one text, so you can focus on specific circumstances. Each procedural document has a certain structure, adhering to which you will not find it difficult to answer the question of how to write an objection to a statement of claim to the court from the defendant and make it reasoned. To do this, we divide the structure into the following parts:
- Introductory. This part indicates the name and address of the court considering the case, the names and addresses of the parties involved in the case, the name and contact details of the applicant, the case number, the surname and initials of the judge who is considering the case.
- Descriptive. At this stage, the applicant sets out his position from his point of view, based on the subject of the dispute. The defendant argues on each ground stated in the complaint.
- Motivational. This part contains references to legislative acts confirming the defendant’s position. References to judicial practice that have a similar subject of dispute are allowed.
- Supplementary. The defendant, based on the arguments given in the text, asks the court to reject the claims in whole or in part.
- Final. Applications are indicated, dated, decrypted and signed by an authorized person.
Sample:
Why do you need to file an objection to a claim, how will it help the defendant?
In civil procedural law, there are no strict requirements for drawing up a response (objection) , which means you can avoid the cost of a lawyer’s services and draw up a document yourself. Of course, if the case is particularly complex, it involves several parties, third parties, or there are counterclaims, then you cannot do without a lawyer or lawyer. But in ordinary claims for the collection of amounts under a loan agreement, the debtor can clearly “convey” his position to the court. Having drawn up a detailed objection, you:
- present to the court your arguments, which, even if they do not affect the issue of collecting the “body” of the loan, may be the basis for reducing fines, penalties, and the amount of interest declared in accordance with Art. 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. For example , debtor A.V. Ivanov in his objection he indicated that he partially agreed with the amount declared by the plaintiff bank, but at the same time offered his own calculation of penalties, promising to pay a lower percentage within a few days. It is more profitable for the bank if the debt, even if not in full, is repaid immediately, than if bailiffs will unsuccessfully collect a writ of execution from an unemployed debtor. Then the parties came to a settlement agreement, the terms of which satisfied everyone. In this situation, it is more than likely that the entire amount will be recovered in full if there is no objection from the defendant. In addition, this is a clear example of how an active position affects not only the composition of the court, but also the claimant, who makes certain concessions.
- you can win the case. For example , in one of the cases, the defendant provided the court with detailed, reasoned objections to the statement of claim for the loan, from which it followed that the bank did not take into account the availability of insurance against job loss due to illness. An insurance company was brought in as a third party and reimbursed the loan in full due to compelling evidence of the defendant's deteriorating health causing his dismissal and his inability to pay the liability. It is not difficult to imagine what the court decision would have been if the objections had not been drawn up and sent to the court.
When writing objections, special attention should be paid to the statute of limitations, which is 3 years from the date of the last demand for collection of a credit debt or debt on a receipt. Often, credit institutions, hoping for the silent behavior of the defendant, file long-standing claims that have long expired.
It is known that in accordance with Article 199 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the limitation period applies only if the defendant declares this - only then is it possible to refuse to satisfy the claim on this basis. In the absence of such a statement (that is, in the absence of a written objection), the claims will be satisfied, even if they are time-barred.
Technical features when compiling
The text of the document should not exceed five pages, although there is no legal prohibition on this criterion, but for human perception this volume is optimal. Before challenging a claim, you should familiarize yourself with the generally established rules for filing an objection. Try to avoid long names, use abbreviations whenever possible. Do not use small font; it is recommended to use size 14 with one and a half spacing. It is possible to use bolding of phrases, but this should be done sparingly.
Indicate the case number, surname and initials of the judge hearing the case. There is no such obligation at the legislative level, but mentioning this in the descriptive part is a rule of good form.
For easier comprehension, it is recommended to use numbering of paragraphs within the document and pages. This will allow you to quickly orient the court according to the text of your document when speaking and keep their attention.
The main forms of acts and appeals are published on the official websites of the relevant courts.
