Litigation attorneys from the St. Petersburg Office of EPAM have defended the interests of Razvitie Zdorovia i Sporta LLC in a dispute over the recovery of billions of roubles’ worth of losses. The Commercial Court upheld the view taken by the Firm’s associates and dismissed the claim seeking the recovery of over RUB 1 billion. In addition, the Commercial Court granted a counterclaim filed by Razvitie Zdorovia i Sporta seeking to recover RUB 100 million from the plaintiff.

Razvitie Zdorovia i Sporta invests in and develops athletic facilities. The Firm’s Client and the plaintiff had entered into a preliminary lease agreement which stipulated they would later enter into a long-term lease and operate the building as a large fitness club. In addition, the future tenant had undertaken to prepare the premises for comprehensive operation. As a result of numerous breaches of the agreement and failure to perform the work, Razvitie Zdorovia i Sporta withdrew from the preliminary lease agreement.

Considering the termination of the preliminary lease to be unlawful, the counterparty filed a claim seeking to recover losses totaling over RUB 1 billion. During the trial, the Firm’s associates found grounds to file a counter-claim seeking the recovery of the Client’s losses.

As a result of the legal proceedings, the Court upheld the view taken by the Firm’s attorneys and dismissed the plaintiff’s claim. The court also agreed with the Firm’s view with regard to recovery of its Client’s losses and ordered RUB 100 million to be paid by the plaintiff.

Representing the Client were Ivan Smirnov, Managing Partner of the Firm’s St. Petersburg Office; senior associates Evgeny Gurchenko and Artem Magunov; and associates Alexander Svashenko and Maya Chokoraya.