{"id":9957,"date":"2023-05-09T17:20:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T15:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ab.peritus-ra.com\/?p=9957"},"modified":"2023-10-25T17:43:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T15:43:03","slug":"payment-on-anothers-debt-as-a-gratuitous-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/2023\/05\/payment-on-anothers-debt-as-a-gratuitous-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Payment on another\u2019s debt as a gratuitous act"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_large\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_flex valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"vc_col-sm-12 wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><p>The ques\u00adti\u00adon of when a third-party pay\u00adment on ano\u00adther\u2019s debt is con\u00adside\u00adred gra\u00adtui\u00adtous, which is not always easy to deter\u00admi\u00adne in prac\u00adti\u00adce, was once again addres\u00adsed by the BGH (Fede\u00adral Court of Jus\u00adti\u00adce) in a decis\u00adi\u00adon dated Febru\u00adary 23, 2023 \u2014 IX ZR 136\/22.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The plain\u00adti\u00adff is the insol\u00adven\u00adcy admi\u00adnis\u00adtra\u00adtor of the debtor\u2019s estate. The insol\u00adven\u00adcy pro\u00adcee\u00addings were ope\u00adned on March 2, 2020, fol\u00adlo\u00adwing an appli\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon made on Decem\u00adber 18, 2019. The defen\u00addant lea\u00adsed pre\u00admi\u00adses to a GbR (part\u00adner\u00adship). After rent pay\u00adments were not made, the defen\u00addant ter\u00admi\u00adna\u00adted the lease with a noti\u00adce dated Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 20, 2019. Bet\u00adween Octo\u00adber 7, 2019, and Janu\u00adary 17, 2020, the deb\u00adtor made a total pay\u00adment of \u20ac82,681.07 to the defen\u00addant to sett\u00adle the rent arre\u00adars of the GbR.<\/p>\n<p>The plain\u00adti\u00adff filed a claim against the defen\u00addant see\u00adking the repay\u00adment of this amount, initi\u00adal\u00adly rely\u00ading on \u00a7 131 para. 1 sen\u00adtence 1 of the Ger\u00adman Insol\u00adven\u00adcy Code (InsO). After the defen\u00addant argued that this pro\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon did not apply since she was not an insol\u00adven\u00adcy deb\u00adtor, the plain\u00adti\u00adff alter\u00adna\u00adtively pre\u00adsen\u00adted the fac\u00adtu\u00adal basis for a dona\u00adti\u00adon avo\u00adid\u00adance claim under \u00a7 134 para. 1 of the InsO. He argued that the GbR was not able to sett\u00adle the rent arre\u00adars.<\/p>\n<p>The docu\u00adment con\u00adtai\u00adning this state\u00adment was not made available to the defen\u00addant by the Regio\u00adnal Court. The defen\u00addant was sub\u00adse\u00adquent\u00adly sen\u00adten\u00adced as reques\u00adted, with the Regio\u00adnal Court sta\u00adting in the fac\u00adtu\u00adal fin\u00addings of the judgment that it was undis\u00adpu\u00adted that the GbR was unable to sett\u00adle the rent arre\u00adars at the time of the con\u00adtes\u00adted actions. After an unsuc\u00adcessful appli\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon for rec\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon of the fac\u00adtu\u00adal fin\u00addings by the defen\u00addant, she filed an appeal and argued in the second ins\u00adtance that the GbR was not insol\u00advent at the time of the pay\u00adments and was still eco\u00adno\u00admic\u00adal\u00adly acti\u00adve. Fur\u00adther\u00admo\u00adre, the defen\u00addant argued that her claim was not wort\u00adhl\u00adess, pro\u00advi\u00adding more detail\u00aded expl\u00adana\u00adti\u00adons. The appel\u00adla\u00adte court did not admit the defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s argu\u00adment and dis\u00admissed the appeal by reso\u00adlu\u00adti\u00adon. The defen\u00addant is now chal\u00adlen\u00adging this decis\u00adi\u00adon with a peti\u00adti\u00adon for non-admittance to the Fede\u00adral Court of Jus\u00adti\u00adce (Nicht\u00adzu\u00adlas\u00adsungs\u00adbe\u00adschwer\u00adde).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Decis\u00adi\u00adon: Exami\u00adna\u00adti\u00adon of Wort\u00adhl\u00adess\u00adness is Requi\u00adred<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Fede\u00adral Court of Jus\u00adti\u00adce (Bun\u00addes\u00adge\u00adrichts\u00adhof) allo\u00adwed the revi\u00adsi\u00adon becau\u00adse the appel\u00adla\u00adte cour\u00adt\u2019s decis\u00adi\u00adon to dis\u00admiss the appeal vio\u00adla\u00adted the defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s right to be heard. The Fede\u00adral Court of Jus\u00adti\u00adce then set aside the con\u00adtes\u00adted decis\u00adi\u00adon and refer\u00adred the case back to the appel\u00adla\u00adte court for a new hea\u00adring and decis\u00adi\u00adon.<\/p>\n<p>The defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s sub\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adons should have been admit\u00adted in the second ins\u00adtance accor\u00adding to \u00a7 531 para. 2 No. 2 of the Ger\u00adman Civil Pro\u00adce\u00addu\u00adre Code (ZPO). The Regio\u00adnal Court vio\u00adla\u00adted the defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s right to be heard by using the plain\u00adti\u00adf\u00adf\u2019s sub\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adons in its decis\u00adi\u00adon, which the defen\u00addant was una\u00adwa\u00adre of. This was cau\u00adsal\u00adly lin\u00adked to the defen\u00addant not pre\u00adsen\u00adting argu\u00adments, espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly regar\u00adding the issue of the wort\u00adhl\u00adess\u00adness of the claims against the ten\u00adant. While the fact that the plain\u00adti\u00adff initi\u00adal\u00adly based his claim only on avo\u00adid\u00adance under \u00a7 131 of the Insol\u00adven\u00adcy Code (InsO) does not pre\u00adclude the con\u00adside\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon of the cir\u00adcum\u00ads\u00adtances under dif\u00adfe\u00adrent legal aspects, from the defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s per\u00adspec\u00adti\u00adve, the lack of the plain\u00adti\u00adf\u00adf\u2019s sub\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adons on the fac\u00adtu\u00adal con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adons of \u00a7 134 of the InsO in the docu\u00adment dated June 4, 2021 meant that she had no know\u00adledge of any such argu\u00adments. The defen\u00addant also asser\u00adted the ten\u00adan\u00adt\u2019s insol\u00adven\u00adcy suf\u00adfi\u00adci\u00adent\u00adly sub\u00adstan\u00adtia\u00adted. A party meets its obli\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon to sub\u00adstan\u00adtia\u00adte when making fac\u00adtu\u00adal claims rela\u00adted to a legal pro\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon that is sui\u00adta\u00adble for making the oppo\u00adsing par\u00adty\u00ad\u2019s clai\u00admed right appear non-existent. The likeli\u00adhood of the pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon is irrele\u00advant.<\/p>\n<p>The BGH fur\u00adther explains that in asses\u00adsing the gra\u00adtui\u00adtous\u00adness of a third-party\u2019s per\u00adfor\u00admance in a three-party rela\u00adti\u00adonship, it is not cru\u00adcial whe\u00adther the dis\u00adpo\u00adser recei\u00adved com\u00adpen\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon. What mat\u00adters is whe\u00adther the reci\u00adpi\u00adent of the per\u00adfor\u00admance has to pro\u00advi\u00adde con\u00adside\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon in return. This con\u00adside\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon can also ent\u00adail the reci\u00adpi\u00adent losing a claim against their deb\u00adtor when recei\u00adving the per\u00adfor\u00admance. Howe\u00adver, this only appli\u00ades if the reci\u00adpi\u00aden\u00adt\u2019s claim was valuable. If the claim was wort\u00adhl\u00adess, the reci\u00adpi\u00adent has\u00adn\u2019t lost any\u00adthing that can be con\u00adside\u00adred as con\u00adside\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon for the per\u00adfor\u00admance. In such cases, the per\u00adfor\u00admance on ano\u00adther\u2019s debt is voida\u00adble as a gra\u00adtui\u00adtous act.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the vio\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon of the defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s right to be heard, the decis\u00adi\u00adon of the appel\u00adla\u00adte court must be set aside, and the case must be recon\u00adside\u00adred there, taking into account the defen\u00addan\u00adt\u2019s sub\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adons and any pro\u00adpo\u00adsed evi\u00addence. The bur\u00adden of proof and sub\u00adstan\u00adtia\u00adti\u00adon for the fac\u00adtu\u00adal con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adons of the avo\u00adid\u00adance cir\u00adcum\u00ads\u00adtance of gra\u00adtui\u00adtous acts rests with the insol\u00adven\u00adcy admi\u00adnis\u00adtra\u00adtor. If the deb\u00adtor has sett\u00adled a claim against a third party, the insol\u00adven\u00adcy admi\u00adnis\u00adtra\u00adtor must also prove that the claim was wort\u00adhl\u00adess.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Legal Assess\u00adment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this decis\u00adi\u00adon, the BGH reaf\u00adfirm\u00aded its pre\u00advious juris\u00adpru\u00addence on Sec\u00adtion 134 of the Ger\u00adman Insol\u00adven\u00adcy Code (InsO). The decis\u00adi\u00adon is also con\u00advin\u00adcing in terms of con\u00adtent. A wort\u00adhl\u00adess claim can\u00adnot serve as con\u00adside\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon for a recei\u00adved per\u00adfor\u00admance. The expl\u00adana\u00adti\u00adons regar\u00adding the right to be heard are in line with pre\u00advious juris\u00adpru\u00addence, empha\u00adsi\u00adzing the need for lower ins\u00adtance courts to pro\u00adceed careful\u00adly and not overst\u00adretch the requi\u00adre\u00adments for sub\u00adstan\u00adtia\u00adti\u00adon.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ques\u00adti\u00adon of when a third-party pay\u00adment on ano\u00adther\u2019s debt is con\u00adside\u00adred gra\u00adtui\u00adtous, which is not always easy to deter\u00admi\u00adne in prac\u00adti\u00adce, was once again addres\u00adsed by the BGH (Fede\u00adral Court of Jus\u00adti\u00adce) in a decis\u00adi\u00adon dated Febru\u00adary 23, 2023 \u2014 IX ZR 136\/22. Facts: The plain\u00adti\u00adff is the insol\u00adven\u00adcy admi\u00adnis\u00adtra\u00adtor of the debtor\u2019s estate.\u2026","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[212,215,214,216],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-crisis","category-general","category-restructuring-and-insolvency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9957"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9966,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9957\/revisions\/9966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peritus-ra.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}