The court has reached a conclusion regarding the market "squeeze" case in Kharkiv.

The Eastern Appellate Court in Kharkiv has ruled to grant the appeal of market owner LLC "Brian" regarding the first-instance court's decision to reclaim the market land in favor of its former owner PC LLC "Solli."

As reported by "Dumka," the corresponding decision has been published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions of Ukraine.

The appellate court indicated that the first-instance decision to reclaim the land was made without proper evidence. Specifically, the judge was supposed to establish that the property of LLC "Brian," which is being claimed by PC LLC "Solli," was acquired unlawfully and against the will of PC LLC "Solli." However, this was not done.

It is worth noting that, according to LLC "Brian" lawyer Natalia Obodovska, in November 2012, PC LLC "Solli" sold the land parcel located at 323-A Akademika Pavlova Street. The buyer, LLC "Bezant," later resold it. After that, the business ceased operations. The new owner managed the land for five years before also deciding to sell it. Since 2017, LLC "Brian" has owned the parcel on Akademika Pavlova, investing its own funds to improve the market area and giving it its current civilized appearance.

At the end of 2023, one of the co-owners of PC LLC "Solli," Alexander Gapon, claimed that the parcel was sold in 2012 without his knowledge. Gapon filed a lawsuit in the Economic Court of Kharkiv region to declare the sale agreement invalid, as it was concluded in violation of the company's internal procedures and, according to Gapon, without considering his will.

The court found that there were indeed violations of the company's internal procedures when formalizing the transaction—these were committed by the then-director of PC LLC "Solli." Therefore, the court declared the 2012 sale transaction invalid. However, this did not apply to subsequent owners.

"The companies that owned the parcel at 323-A Akademika Pavlova after PC LLC 'Solli' are, from a legal standpoint, bona fide purchasers and were or are, as is the case with LLC 'Brian' now, legal owners. 'Brian,' by the way, was not even aware of the court's decision regarding the first purchase because it was not invited to participate in the court process and was not informed about the proceedings," says LLC "Brian" lawyer Natalia Obodovska.

Nevertheless, Gapon filed a lawsuit in spring 2024 to reclaim the property based on the decision declaring the first sale invalid. The same regional economic court ruled to reclaim the parcel from LLC "Brian"—without compensation or reimbursements.

Judge Natalia Kukhari, who made this decision, referred to a legal provision that indeed allows for the reclamation of property from a bona fide purchaser in favor of the former owner if it has been removed from the possession of the owner against their will. However, Judge Kukhari did not establish or prove this fact, although she was supposed to. The very provision she refers to—Article 388 of the Civil Code of Ukraine—clearly and unambiguously defines when and how it should be applied.

"In my opinion, the opponents abused their procedural rights. This allowed them to split the claim into two separate lawsuits, but this dispute could have been addressed in the format of a single lawsuit, where all parties would have been ensured competitiveness in the process. In this case, 'Brian's' opponents could not have used the first court decision declaring the sale agreement invalid as an indisputable fact to reclaim the parcel," says the lawyer for "Brian."

Additionally, the freedom to sell the parcel on Akademika Pavlova was expressed by the representative of the legal entity—the director of PC LLC "Solli," who formalized and signed the sale agreement in 2012. If he did this improperly, it would be logical to direct claims towards him. However, he is only mentioned in the case but was not involved in the court proceedings.

Consequently, according to the appellate court's decision, the disputed parcel, where the "Solli" market is located, remains in the ownership and use of LLC "Brian."

Several local Telegram channels reported that the attempt to seize the market may be linked to the honorary consul of Lithuania in Kharkiv, Konstantin Tokarev.