Successfully represented a client in a EUR 4.7 million dispute

A company operating in the fertiliser sector faced two significant legal challenges: a EUR 4.7 million indirect claim brought by a creditor of a company in liquidation, and a EUR 700,000 actio pauliana claim filed by the bankruptcy administrator. The total amount in dispute reached EUR 5.5 million, posing a material risk to the client’s business continuity.

The case stood out not only for its legal complexity – raising novel questions regarding the application of indirect claims by a creditor of a company under liquidation, but also for the intricacy of the factual issues. Resolving the dispute required an in-depth analysis of seven years of business activities involving two legal entities.

Our dispute resolution team conducted extensive evidentiary work, collecting and reconstructing business relationships dating back seven years. We submitted nearly 700 pieces of evidence to the court, including contracts, invoices, delivery and acceptance certificates, and waybills related to fertiliser production and exports to Ukraine. The total volume of submitted materials exceeded 10,000 pages.

The proceedings before the court of first instance lasted one and a half years. Over the course of 12 hearings, many of which lasted a full day, we systematically demonstrated that the client’s business relationships were genuine and economically justified. Our business dispute resolution lawyers achieved a favourable outcome for the client: both claims were dismissed, preserving EUR 5.5 million in value.

This case illustrates our ability to manage complex, long-term disputes that require not only deep and specialised legal expertise, but also meticulous factual investigation and strategic planning of evidentiary arguments. It is one of many examples demonstrating our experience in protecting clients’ interests in high-value commercial litigation.