1. The subject of the dispute is the recovery from “Budivelna Kompaniya “Kombinat Vyrobnychykh Pidpryyemstv” LLC in favor of the Executive Committee of the Shcherbanivka Village Council of the Poltava District of the Poltava Region of UAH 2,917,677.33 of debt under the agreement on participation in the development of infrastructure.
2. The court of cassation considered the issue of the relationship between the institutions of installment payment (deferral) of execution of a court decision and a settlement agreement, in particular, whether it is possible by a settlement agreement to establish a term for the fulfillment of an obligation longer than the one-year term for installment payment (deferral) of execution of a court decision. The court noted that a settlement agreement is the result of an agreement between the parties based on mutual concessions, and not a unilateral expression of will by the debtor, as in the case of installment payment of execution of a court decision. The court emphasized that the Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine does not prohibit the establishment of a payment schedule, including outside the one-year term, as a condition for approving a settlement agreement, since this is an expression of the mutually agreed will of the parties. The court also indicated that, when approving a settlement agreement, the court should not define force majeure circumstances and provide a list of evidence in the event of their likely occurrence, since it is the right of the parties to determine the terms of the agreement. The court rejected the prosecutor’s arguments about the violation of the interests of the state, since the stable поступлення (receipt) of funds to the budget and the phased payment of debt without the risk of termination of the defendant’s activity also meet the interests of the state.
3. The court dismissed the cassation appeal and upheld the appellate court’s ruling approving the settlement agreement.
****: In this case, the court departed from the legal position set out in the постанові (resolution) of the Supreme Court dated February 5, 2025 in case No. 917/1291/23, regarding the impossibility of approving a settlement agreement with conditions on фактичне (actual) installment payment of the obligation for more than one year.
