June 2023

Provisional Orders for Suspension of Execution of Payment Orders amounting to approximately EUR 3,5 million

Recently published were the interim orders of 31.5.2023 of the Athens Court of First Instance, which suspended in its entirety the enforcement proceedings against our clients - borrowing companies, as well as allegedly as co-responsible individuals - guarantors for cheques of 1.203.258,58€ and 2.230.674,72€ respectively. In particular, a total suspension of enforcement (including real estate) was ordered, which was accelerated on the basis of notified cheques, in satisfaction of an alleged loan claim of a company managing claims from loans and credits. The judge presumed, apparently, the validity of the borrowing companies' main remedy, namely their opposition under Art. 933 CCP. The latter pointed out both the defects of the enforcement procedure (such as: (a) the lack of communication with the cheque of the necessary documents proving the assignment of the management of the contested claim to the collecting company management company (b) the lack of maturity of the contested loan claim of the collecting company due to the existence of active negotiations and, therefore, the failure to overturn contracts for the settlement of claims awarded by payment orders due to alleged non-payment of instalments - balloon payments; and (c) the generally improper acceleration of enforcement pending a decision on the borrowers' claim, challenging the termination of the settlement agreements and claiming that the accelerator should be condemned to further negotiation acts), as well as the defects in the titles, i.e. the payment orders issued (already, since 2016), against the borrowers. As for the defects of the disputed payment orders, it is worth noting that the latter were not covered by res judicata, with the waiver of the objection of Art. This is because the waiver of the objection under Article 632 of the CCP in the context of a settlement agreement does not constitute a waiver of the objection under Article 633 of the CCP, unless there is an express provision in the contract recognising the validity of the order for payment in question.