Heating debt: default judgment set aside, dispute ended by a settlement agreement

The client’s problem

A municipal heating company in Bila Tserkva sought to recover from the clients a debt for heating and water heating for the period from 1 October 2016 to 1 June 2021. By a default judgment of 8 December 2021, the court awarded UAH 23,267.25, including inflation losses and 3% per annum, plus court costs.

What we did

• We applied for review of the default judgment – on 31 August 2022, the court set it aside and listed the case for hearing.
• We invoked the limitation period.
• We negotiated a settlement agreement with the claimant.

Outcome

On 14 December 2022, the Bila Tserkva City and District Court of Kyiv Oblast approved the settlement agreement and closed the proceedings. The claimant waived inflation losses (UAH 6,278.77) and 3% per annum (UAH 2,181.84), the clients acknowledged a debt of UAH 14,806.64, and the parties split the court fee equally. The settlement closed all claims for heat supply for the period from 1 October 2016 to 29 November 2022. The ruling became final on 29 December 2022.