Scania files appeal against decision of Kyiv Economic Court to recover UAH 164 mln on claim of another former dealer

KYIV. Aug 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Scania Ukraine LLC, the official distributor of Swedish Scania, is challenging the decision of Kyiv Economic Court on the recovery of UAH 164.4 million in lost profits on the claim of a former dealer – Proscan LLC (Kyiv).

According to the distributor’s press service, Scania Ukraine will challenge the decision of the Economic Court at the Northern Court of Appeal of Kyiv, the first hearing will be held on September 9.

The press release recalls that only two months ago this appellate instance ruled in favor of Scania Ukraine in an almost similar case with another former dealer, Zhuravlyna LLC.

As reported, then the decision of the Economic Court of Kyiv to recover UAH 123.5 million was canceled.

Scania Ukraine noted that cooperation with the Proscan dealer continued until the premises where the dealer operated, as a result of foreclosure on the property, was transferred to the bank’s ownership due to the outstanding loan.

"This made it impossible to fulfill the terms of the contract, which was the reason for its termination. At the same time, the dealer filed a claim for compensation for the amount of allegedly lost profits, which during the consideration of the dispute ranged from UAH 164 million to UAH 169 million," the report says.

Considering the court’s decision unlawful, the company cites a number of arguments, in particular, noting that the court ignored the fact that these funds can only qualify as a debt on the payment of the dealer fee (there is even no fact that there is such a debt) and require a different method of proof.

In addition, the report says, the economic court recognized Scania Ukraine LLC as an abuser of its obligations under the dealer agreement in terms of non-coordination of the sale of trucks, not taking into account that it was Proscan that was obliged to coordinate such sales with other dealers.

"The court recovered from Scania Ukraine LLC UAH 164 million of the dealer fee unpaid to Proscan, the amount of which was never determined by the parties, and thus it was impossible to calculate it. Moreover, there were no grounds for paying the dealer commission," the distributor said.

In addition, the press release notes that justifying the amount of the recovered funds, the court referred to transactions for the sale of spare parts, while the payment of the dealer fee concerned only the sale of trucks.

"Scania intends to defend its position and fairness in the consideration of the case at the appeal court, and expresses the hope for an honest and impartial review of the case," the press service said.

The distribution company with foreign investments Scania Ukraine has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1998 (before that, there was a representative office since 1993). In 2020, the company’s revenue decreased by 6% versus 2019, to UAH 1.651 billion, and net profit decreased by 22.7%, to UAH 42.4 million.