A claim for the return of a leased land plot is not applicable if such return would require the demolition of a capital construction object erected on the plot
The Supreme Court reviewed case No. A37-2657/2023 following a claim filed by the Department of Property and Housing Relations of the Magadan City Mayor’s Office against Oktan Trade LLC for the return of a leased land plot under Article 622 of the Russian Civil Code.
The court of first instance dismissed the claim, holding that Article 622 of the Civil Code on the return of leased property does not apply where capital construction objects have been erected on a publicly owned land plot.
The appellate and cassation courts overturned the first-instance decision and ordered the company to vacate the land plot.
The Supreme Court’s Judicial Panel for Economic Disputes set aside all prior court decisions and remanded the case for a new trial.
The Supreme Court stated that “a claim whose satisfaction would entail the actual demolition of a construction object cannot be considered by the court under the guise of a claim for the return of a leased land plot pursuant to the rules governing relations arising from a construction lease agreement.”
