Shareholders from Nalchik left without legal support in dispute between developer and investor

An investor in an apartment building on Moskovskaya Street in Nalchik has won a court victory over the developer and is demanding that the contracts with the equity holders who purchased more than a hundred apartments be declared null and void. The developer is refusing to negotiate, so the lawsuits have been filed against the home buyers, the lawyer said.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, several years after purchasing an apartment in a building under construction, the equity holders cannot register their ownership rights due to a conflict between the developer and the investor. The parties' lawsuits are being heard in court, and the authorities have withdrawn from the situation, although about 90 families may lose their apartments. In April, at the request of an investor, the court banned the registration of apartments in the building, and equity holders called on the authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria to protect the interests of apartment buyers.

Entrepreneur Yakub Kardanov, who invested 98 million rubles in the construction of an apartment building in Nalchik, challenged the decision of the Arbitration Court of Kabardino-Balkaria to terminate the investment agreement at the request of the developer, having achieved its cancellation. The 16th Arbitration Court of Appeal denied the developer, Spetsstroy LLC, the termination of the investment agreement with Kardanov, and this ruling was upheld by subsequent courts.

The decision of the 16th Arbitration Court of Appeal states that the developer abused its rights by starting to sell apartments to third parties without the investor's consent. Kardanov financed the construction of the facility until July 17, 2020, and the first loan agreement with an individual was concluded by the developer on April 17, 2020, three months before the investor made the last payment. "In fact, the developer unilaterally decided to change the terms of the agreement," the court decision states.

The court rejected Spetsstroy LLC's arguments that signing compensation agreements with individuals does not violate the investor's rights, since the investor retained the free square meters. The developer did not provide evidence that the volume of the remaining area is sufficient to fulfill its obligations to the investor, the court said.

The building on Moskovskaya Street was supposed to be completed in 2021. The court decisions stated that the degree of readiness of the apartment building is 95%. The developer entered into 139 loan agreements with individuals-equity holders with a settlement in the form of apartments, of which 112 were for residential premises.

Lawyer Fatima Kardanova, representing the interests of the investor, stated that “Yakub Kardanov does not intend to infringe on the rights of equity holders, understanding that people have invested money, that many of them have already made repairs in their apartments.”

“But in order to maintain a balance of interests, it is necessary to sit down with the developer at the table and discuss the current situation. The developer is avoiding discussing the issue, trying to absolve itself of responsibility," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Meanwhile, the Nalchik City Court is currently hearing a criminal case against developer Bolotkov, initiated under Article 200.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Attracting citizens' funds for construction in violation of the requirements of the Russian Federation legislation on participation in shared construction of apartment buildings). Lawyer Kardanova noted that "even after the case was initiated and transferred to court, despite the arrest, the company continued to enter into contracts with individuals."

The investor's representative also indicated that the arbitration court and the Nalchik City Court are hearing many cases on the claim of Yakub Kardanov against Spetsstroy LLC with a requirement for reconciliation under the investment agreement, as well as on Kardanov's claims against equity holders to recognize their loan agreements and compensation agreements as null and void. "All these civil cases would not have happened if the developer had wanted to settle disputes through negotiations with the investor. Everything depends on him," concluded Fatima Kardanova.

* the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.