On January 30th, 2017, the Ninth Arbitrazh Appeal court has dismissed the appeal plea of our opponent in a 184 mln rub dispute (60 mln rub claimed by the opponent, 64 mln rub demanded in a counterclaim). This case has lasted for more than 4.5 years and concerned recovery of damages that have been incurred after the fire spread in a rented warehouse in 2012.
The original claims of the opponent have been sustained. However, KIAP managed to get the case re-tried. The Cassation court has pointed out that the source of fire has not been properly investigated and that the opponent has not provided proper evidence of the amount of sustained damages.
After extensive use of expert reports (which were necessary to ascertain the cause of fire, as well as to properly estimate the damages) and examinations of expert witnesses – the leading specialists in fire safety, KIAP has successfully demonstrated that neither of the causes of fire suggested by the opponent corresponded to the facts of the case. The court, ruling for our client, has also agreed with KIAP that the documents provided by the opponent were defective and thus could not be used to demonstrate the amount of damages claimed by the opponent.