How to correctly formulate an objection to the defendant’s response - sample objections

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.

How and within what time limit is an objection filed?

It is worth approaching the preparation of an objection to a claim with all responsibility. After all, it can be regarded as a way to protect the rights and interests of the defendant. It is submitted to the court that is considering the case. You can present it in person at the court hearing, leave it in the court office, or send it in advance by mail. If these actions are performed by another person on your behalf, then issue a power of attorney for him at a notary office. The main thing is to have time to do this before the court decision is made.

An objection should be prepared according to the number of persons participating in the case and one copy should be prepared for the court to attach it to the materials of the civil case. It is also accompanied by all documents that can confirm the arguments presented.

Not only participants in civil proceedings have the right to file an objection to a claim. It is also provided for in the consideration of arbitration cases.

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”.

Comparison

The main difference between a response and an objection is that the first document is used in arbitration disputes, the second - in civil ones.

There are certain nuances in the use of these terms in different contexts. Thus, a “revocation” from the point of view of the legislation on arbitration disputes is a document that contains objections. In this sense, the second term - “objection” - reflects the subject of the review. In turn, an “objection” from the point of view of the legislation on civil disputes is a written document, which in practice is most often presented in the format of a review.

Thus, in many contexts, the terms “objection” and “feedback” are used interchangeably. But it would be incorrect to call the arbitration review an “objection” as a document. In turn, a civil procedural “objection” may well be a response, since the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation does not define it as a separate document, but only indicates its written form.

Having determined the difference between a review and an objection, we summarize the conclusions in a small table.

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.

comparison table

In a generalized form, you can compare both procedural documents in the table:

Expert opinion

Karnaukh Ekaterina Vladimirovna

Graduated from the National University of Shipbuilding, majoring in Enterprise Economics

The similarity of the statements lies in their purpose: a statement of the defendant’s position on the plaintiff’s claims with legal justification. In both cases, if additional claims arise from the plaintiff, clarifying the facts of the case from third parties, the defendant has the right to present new versions of procedural documents.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Supplementary. The defendant, based on the arguments given in the text, asks the court to reject the claims in whole or in part.
5. Final. Applications are indicated, dated, decrypted and signed by an authorized person.

Sample:

Samples and examples

Standard for writing a review: a “header” is filled out on the left, where after the name of the court information about the participants in the proceedings and the number of the registered civil case are listed. This is followed by the title of the procedural document.

Expert opinion

Karnaukh Ekaterina Vladimirovna

Graduated from the National University of Shipbuilding, majoring in Enterprise Economics

In the first part of the review, you should indicate the essence of the claim and express your opinion regarding the claims made. In the second part of the statement, substantiated (with references to legal acts) evidence must be provided for each inconsistent position. The third part is a proposal to make a decision based on Russian legislation.

In the conclusion, you should indicate which supporting documents are attached to the review, as well as copies of notifications to other participants in the process. Sign and date the document.

Features of filling out the “Objection” document form:

• data about a “third party” is excluded;
• a refusal to accept the claims is declared;
• an indication of the notification of transfer of a copy to the plaintiff is provided.

Otherwise the documents have no differences. The application must be signed by the main participant in the process or an authorized representative, as indicated in the document. The power of attorney is attached to the rest of the package of papers submitted to the court.

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.