The participation of the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in the Moscow Region in the trial allowed a businessman from the Moscow Region to defend his right to a land plot.

    In September last year, an entrepreneur who owns two land plots located in the city district of Istra addressed to the regional Business Ombudsman. These plots were purchased at public auctions organized as part of the bankruptcy procedure of a Limited Liability Company.

     The entrepreneur's right to land plots was registered in accordance with the established procedure. However, in April 2021, the administration of the Istra city district appealed to the Istra City Court with a statement of claim for invalidation of contracts for the sale of land plots, and for the obligation of the Moscow Region Department of the Rosreestr to cancel the records of registration of ownership rights.

    In substantiating the claims, the municipal administration indicated that the decisions of the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region, which entered into force in 2016, the contracts for the purchase and sale of land plots concluded between the previous bankrupt owner and the Property Management Committee of the Istra Municipal District were invalidated, meaning that these plots did not belong to the Limited Liability Company and, therefore, could not be sold to the entrepreneur.

     The Commissioner of the Moscow Region sent an application to the Istra City Court to enter into the case as a third person who does not declare independent claims on the defendant's side.

    As it was established, due to the inaction of the administration in the execution of the decisions of the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region, at the time of publication of information about the conduct of public auctions, their actual conduct and summing up their results, the bankruptcy trustee and the applicant did not have any information about the absence of land plots in the possession of the Company.

    The position of the Commissioner in the court dispute was based on the fact that the legal nature of the contracts concluded at the auction differs significantly from the transaction made by the parties by reaching an agreement on its terms.

    According to paragraph 3 of Article 448 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the terms of the contract concluded based on the results of the auction are determined by the organizer of the auction and must be indicated in the notice of the auction. Consequently, the terms of the contract concluded at the auction are established by the notice of the auction and its protocol.

    In accordance with paragraph 6 of Article 448 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, unless otherwise provided by law, the person who won the auction and the organizer of the auction sign a protocol on the results of the auction on the same day, which has the force of a contract.

    Thus, the invalidation of contracts for the purchase and sale of land plots should be preceded by the invalidation of the results of public auctions for their sale.

    The Istra City Court of the Moscow Region took into account the arguments of the applicant and the Commissioner and accepted them as legitimate, the administration of the Istra city district was refused to satisfy the claims.