December 2020

Decision of the Single Judge of the Court of First Instance of Corinth on the Dismissal of a Credit Institution's Claim for Loan Adjustment

The 298/2020 decision of the Single Judge of the Corinth Court of First Instance was issued, according to which a claim of a credit institution under special liquidation was rejected. The borrower had entered into a settlement agreement through the law firm with which the plaintiff credit institution cooperated. After sending a mail with a special arrangement request form, the borrower filled in his details and sent it, paying the first instalment of the arrangement. However, the credit institution in special liquidation did not accept the existence of the agreement, claiming that it had never been approved by itself, and proceeded to bring an action. The court accepted that the agreement had taken place, irrespective of the formal approval of the credit institution and the Bank of Greece, since for the specific credit agreements for the settlement of debts of less than EUR 250 000 and for the write-off of off-balance-sheet interest there was no requirement of approval by the relevant committee of the Bank of Greece. As the judgment states: 'It is further proved that on 20.12.2018 (one day before the filing of the present action at the Registry of the present court) the second defendant received an email from the partner of the plaintiff's special administrator ... inviting her and the first defendant to submit an application for debt adjustment by signing a pre-completed application sent to them electronically and forwarding the signed application back to her via email. ...[...] Furthermore, in order to complete the process of debt adjustment and in response to the content of the e-mail of 20.12.2018, they sent on 4.1.2019 by e-mail the relevant application form, which they had both previously signed, as well as photocopies of their police identity cards. [...] On the basis of the evidentiary assumptions set out above, the conclusion of a contract between the parties for the settlement of the contested debt is deemed proven'.