Disputes in the construction industry – dismissal of the petition for the declaration of bankruptcy which was filed against our Client by one of the subcontractors

On 8 February 2019 the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw in Warsaw dismissed the petition for the declaration of bankruptcy. Said application was filed by a subcontractor against our Client who is one of the leading companies in Poland operating as a general contractor in the construction industry.

In the course of the proceedings before the first instance court our Client was represented by the Law Firm’s Partner, Bartosz Groele, an attorney-at-law and by a restructuring advisor, Bartosz Magnowski, an attorney-at-law. According to the oral rationale behind the decision presented after the decision was announced – the Court concurred with the arguments raised by the representatives of the TPG office who contended that the petition for the declaration of bankruptcy was subject to dismissal under Article 12a of the Bankruptcy Act because the petition was based on a receivable which was disputable in whole.

The issued decision is another important contribution to the adjudication line opposing the practice of filing petitions for the declaration of bankruptcy based on disputed claims. Such petitions are still effectively used by dishonest subcontractors to exert pressure on a contractor to obtain payment for a disputed claim.