What determines the amount of moral damage caused by the owner to the owner?

As a result of violation of the civil rights of individuals, they may suffer not only property, but also moral harm. According to the claim of the victim, the perpetrator of the harm must compensate him in monetary form. In court, it is necessary to prove the existence of harm caused, the guilt of the perpetrator, the degree of suffering of the victim and many other conditions. As judicial practice shows, compensation for moral damage, especially its size, always raises many questions and disagreements. We will talk about the features of the application of Articles 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, 1099 -1100 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the modern legal field in this article. At the end of the article we have attached interesting examples from judicial practice and links to them. Happy reading!

The degree of physical and or moral suffering of the owner

Moral harm is physical and or moral suffering. In accordance with Art. 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if the cause of such harm is actions that violate a person’s personal non-property rights or encroach on his intangible benefits, the court may oblige the violator to pay monetary compensation for this.

When determining the amount of such compensation, the degree of:

• the offender’s guilt and other noteworthy circumstances;
• physical and moral suffering associated with the individual characteristics of the citizen who has suffered harm.

According to part 1, 2 art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a person who caused harm to the person or property of a citizen shall compensate it in full. An exception is if it proves that it is not to blame for what happened.

By virtue of Part 1 of Art. 1099 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the grounds and amount of compensation for moral damage are determined by the rules provided for in Art. Art. 151, 1064–1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, taking into account the requirements of reasonableness and fairness. The court evaluates the nature of physical and moral suffering, the individual characteristics of the victim, for example, his age, state of health, life situation (Part 2 of Article 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The same principles were voiced by the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in paragraph 8 of Resolution No. 10 dated December 20, 1994.

Limitation of actions

Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation makes it clear to us that the statute of limitations will not apply if compensation is related to a violation or infringement of the non-material benefits of the victim. This means that a lawsuit can be filed even after a long time has passed (5, 10 or even 15 years).

But in case of violation of rights related to property, the statute of limitations will be calculated according to the general rules of civil proceedings. After the expiration of the statutory limitation period, the plaintiff will no longer be able to assert his claims.

The position of the court considering the claim on the issue of compensation for the moral court

According to paragraph 3 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated June 27, 2017 No. 22, relations for the provision of housing and communal services to residents of apartment buildings are subject to the Law of the Russian Federation dated February 7, 1992 No. 2300-I to the extent not regulated by other laws. Therefore, the issue of moral harm, which, in the owner’s opinion, was caused to him by the MA, is considered in accordance with norms No. 2300-I.

In accordance with Art. 15 of Law No. 2300-I, moral damage caused to a consumer as a result of a violation of his rights is compensated by the one who caused this damage, if he is at fault. The amount of compensation for moral damage is determined by the court. It does not depend on the amount of compensation for property damage, if any.

That is, the amount of compensation for suffering will not depend on how much the management company pays for damage to the apartment in the event of a burst central heating pipe or for damage to a car if a dry tree fell on it in the courtyard of an apartment building. The court will determine and collect the cost of moral damage separately.

The right to compensation for moral damage arises if there are grounds and conditions for liability for causing harm:

• the presence of physical or moral suffering of the victim, that is, moral harm;
• the harm arose due to a violation of the personal non-property rights of the victim, due to an encroachment on his intangible benefits or the unlawful action of the violator;
• there is a causal connection between unlawful actions and moral harm;
• the defendant's guilt has been established.

How can an HOA recover damages from the owner for cleaning up construction dust?

Redress under consumer law

Violation of consumer rights is determined by the law of the same name. In addition, the civil code protects deceived buyers. The Seller may cause damage that will be subject to compensation in accordance with the law in the following ways:

• poor quality services provided;
• untimely and inadequately completed work;
• selling goods with significant defects.

Compensation for moral compensation is a rather controversial issue. There are no defined minimum or maximum limits. For example, it is easier to compensate for moral damages under compulsory motor liability insurance, because usually everything is already calculated and provided for in the insurance contract. It is much more difficult to calculate the amount of damage (namely moral, not material) when a cow is stolen (what if she is the only breadwinner in a village family with five small children).

If you have suffered serious psychological injury due to the purchase (and use) of an inferior product, you may be able to file a claim for moral compensation in addition to all consumer rights claims.

In order not to transfer your emotional state to the claim form, it is best to entrust the preparation of the claim to an experienced lawyer. The court will be interested only in facts supported by legislative norms. It is imperative to describe how much your morale has deteriorated due to the actions of third parties, organizations, companies or a group of people in conspiracy.

Remember that material damage caused is paid separately, and compensation for internal experiences is paid separately. The statement of claim must include the following information:

• name and details of the court where you are applying;
• personal data of the defendant;
• personal data of the plaintiff;
• detailed explanations of the situation in which moral harm was caused;
• mandatory support of their claims with regulatory and legal acts;
• valuation of the claim in monetary form;
• list of documents attached to the application.

It is better to discuss the amount of compensation that you can actually receive in advance with an experienced lawyer who has practice in such cases. You can do this on our website.

Circumstances of harm and individual characteristics of the victim

Art. Art. 151, 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establish only general principles for determining the amount of compensation for moral suffering. Therefore, the courts, when deciding on the amount of compensation, evaluate all the above factors together to maintain a balance of interests of the parties to the dispute. In this case, the court must indicate in its decision the reasons why it established exactly this amount of compensation for moral damage.

This, for example, was pointed out by the Sixth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction when issuing a ruling dated 06/07/2021 in case No. 88-11212/2021. An elderly resident of an apartment building filed a lawsuit because her homeowners association had cut off her electricity for debts. This happened during the period of self-isolation of citizens due to the spread of coronavirus. At that moment, RF PP No. 424 was already in force, which imposed a moratorium on the limitation of utility services due to debt for housing and communal services.

The plaintiff demanded that the HOA pay her compensation for moral damage in the amount of 30 thousand rubles: she was locked in an apartment without light and hot water, since the gas boiler did not work without electricity. The first court and the appellate court recognized that the plaintiff was right, but reduced the amount of compensation by 10 times. The resident of the house received only 3 thousand rubles for moral damage and a 1.5 thousand rubles fine.

The Court of Cassation, where she appealed, agreed with her complaint: the lower courts formally approached the assessment of the situation in which the owner found herself during the period of self-isolation. They also did not pay attention to her age and health condition, or the consequences of a power outage in her apartment. The decision of the first instance contains no reasons why the judge appointed exactly this amount of compensation for moral damage. The Court of Cassation sent the case for a new trial so that the court would review the amount of compensation taking into account all the circumstances.

In the example considered, the cassation court pointed out the criteria that affect the amount of compensation for moral damage if the guilt of the offender is proven. These are the life circumstances of the plaintiff in which he was harmed: for example, a pandemic and self-isolation. Courts must also take into account the age and health of the victim, the duration and nature of the plaintiff’s suffering.

What to take into account by the MA when challenging prosecution under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

Going to court

Important! Based on Article 22 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, such cases are subject to consideration in courts of general jurisdiction. A statement of the plaintiff's demands must be sent in writing. According to the general rules of legal proceedings, claims for compensation for moral damage must be filed with the judicial authority at the place of residence of the guilty party.

If a claim for recovery of moral damage arises from legal relations related to property, then such a case will be considered according to the rules of jurisdiction of a property claim. In this case, the application must be submitted to the court at the location of the disputed property.

How to file a claim for compensation for moral damages?

Read here what to do next after receiving the writ of execution.

How to file a claim for compensation for moral damages, read the link:

In some cases, it is possible to apply the rules of alternative jurisdiction:

• when harm was caused in the field of personal data protection;
• when suffering was caused by injury or other damage to health.

Conditions and procedure for going to court

The injured party always receives compensation for moral damage in monetary terms. Depending on the jurisdiction, the statement of claim must be filed in the magistrates or district court.

Attention! Remember that the claim will be accepted in the magistrate's court only if the amount of the claims does not exceed 50,000 rubles. The maximum threshold for the amount of compensation is not established by law, so the applicant has the right to indicate any amount, but the final figure is calculated by the court.

The parties to the dispute regarding compensation for moral suffering are:

• Plaintiff – any citizen who has suffered moral, mental or physical suffering. It is the plaintiff who initiates the legal proceedings, since it is he who submits an application to the court and puts forward demands against the person who made him suffer mentally. To substantiate such claims, the plaintiff must provide evidence to the court;
• The defendant is the person against whom the plaintiff is suing, i.e. one who is accused of causing harm. The defendant acts as a passive party to the court hearing. After the meeting is scheduled, he receives a summons. In court, he can also present evidence and refute his guilt.

Contents of the document

A claim for compensation for moral suffering must comply with certain requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation:

• Document header. Located in the upper left corner. It contains the full name of the court and its address. It is also necessary to write the full details of the plaintiff, defendant and third parties (full name, address, telephone numbers, email);
• Name. It is written just below the “cap” in the middle. For example: “Claim for compensation for moral damage caused by illegal actions”;
• The essence of the violation. Here it is necessary to indicate what kind of violation of the plaintiff’s rights was committed;
• Circumstances of the case. The most voluminous part of the statement of claim. In it, the applicant must describe in detail and consistently how everything happened;
• Requirements. After the circumstances of the case are set out in detail, the plaintiff sums up the results and expresses his demands on the defendant. For example, compensation for moral damage in the amount of 5,000 rubles;
• Cost of claim. In this part of the statement of claim, it is necessary to indicate the amount at which the victim estimates his moral and physical suffering (moral damage). It is also necessary to mention here whether attempts were made to resolve the issue at the stage of pre-trial settlement of the conflict, i.e. in peaceful way;
• Applications. At the end of the claim, you must list the documents that you will attach to the claim. This is necessary for the convenience of consideration of the case by the judge.

If we talk in more detail about the package of documents attached to the statement of claim, it includes:

• Photocopies of the statement of claim. They must be made according to the number of participants in the case. But usually only two are enough: one copy for the plaintiff, the other for the defendant;
• Proof. When drawing up a claim, in its main part the plaintiff refers to a certain evidence base. All material evidence must be presented to the court along with the application (recorded testimony of witnesses, certificates, documents, audio recordings, photographs, extracts, etc.);
• A receipt confirming the fact of payment of the state duty;
• If the plaintiff cannot appear in court on his own, then a representative can do so instead. In this case, a power of attorney confirming the legality of the authority will need to be added to the main package of documents.

ATTENTION! View a completed sample claim for compensation for moral damage:

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

Absence of three circumstances exempting the management company from paying compensation for moral damage

In this case, the MA, in turn, can provide evidence that it is not to blame for what happened to the plaintiff. In one of the articles, Susana Kirakosyan said that house managers, in order to protect themselves from claims for compensation for moral damages of a consumer of a management institution, must prove one of three circumstances:

1. No fault of the management organization.

If there is no fault, then there are no grounds for imposing obligations on the management company or the HOA to pay compensation for moral damage (Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). But the building managers must confirm that there is no fault.

1. Irresistible force.

By virtue of clause 4 of Art. 13 No. 2300-I, UO are exempt from liability if they prove that they did not fulfill their obligations or did not fulfill them properly due to force majeure circumstances: floods, earthquakes, other natural and social phenomena (Article 401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

1. The intent of the victim.

House managers will not pay for moral damage if they find evidence that the victim himself is to blame for the situation (Part 1 of Article 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Part 5 of Article 14 No. 2300-I). To do this, you need to provide evidence to the court that the consumer deliberately violated the norms of the legal acts in order to benefit, avoid expenses or cause harm to himself.

Do you need help to prove one of three circumstances and the absence of your guilt in the owner’s claim? Contact us for advice and legal support.

State duty

As we have already said, compensation for moral damage always occurs in monetary terms. But despite this, such damage is equated by Russian legislation to non-property damage. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation obliged all courts to take this fact into account in legal proceedings.

From the above, we conclude that the norms of sub-section will be applied to the claim for compensation for moral damage. 3 1 paragraph art. 333.19 of the Tax Code, which establishes payment of the plaintiff’s claims that are not related to property.

Please note! It is worth considering the fact that some categories of persons may be completely exempt from the obligation to pay state duty. In such a situation, the plaintiff will have to prove in court that he has those grounds that, by law, exempt him from mandatory payments when considering the case.

Basic provisions

When considering claims related to compensation for moral damage in various situations, lawyers always focus on the provisions of Article 151, dedicated to compensation for moral damage. According to the article, the judicial authorities are able to force the perpetrator to reimburse all costs in the amounts established by law. This occurs when the victim has experienced moral or physical suffering, if his non-property rights have been violated, or in other situations described in current regulations.

Important! Since moral damage involves causing damage to a person’s state of mind, it can only be compensated, not compensated. The amount of compensation is always determined by the judicial authorities or based on the results of a settlement agreement, if it was concluded by both parties.

To accurately determine the amount of monetary awards, judicial officials take into account the level of guilt of the defendant and additional factors that are relevant to the case. They also pay attention to the level of moral losses, since moral damage can be light, medium and severe, taking into account the severity of the crime committed. According to judicial practice, many people go to court to compensate for the moral damage they have received. But due to the large number of regulations on this topic, difficulties often arise when considering such cases. Below is a table with the classification of potential damage: