Lease Dispute

Vasil Kisil & Partners successfully represented interests of six Ukrainian subsidiaries of a Major Producer of European Fashion Industry, sued by a company developing the largest Crimean shopping mall located in Simferopol. The total amount of claimed penalty for alleged breaches of lease agreements amounted to EUR 3.7 million.

The lease agreements were concluded shortly before the annexation of Crimea, which significantly affected the landscape for business operation on the peninsula. Vasil Kisil & Partners team invoked the force majeure defense on the basis of certificates on force majeure issued by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Halfway through the proceedings, the parties decided to initiate settlement negotiations. Vasil Kisil & Partners team successfully acted as legal advisor during negotiations and in eventual signing of the settlement agreement absolving the client’s subsidiaries from liability and terminating lease agreements as well as ongoing proceedings before courts.