The Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) today overturned the arbitration decision by which 90-year-old Yanka Ushkolova was sentenced to pay 684,540.50 leva to the company “Build Comfort 18“ and her property was seized. Thus, she keeps her home in the “Reduta“ district in Sofia and will continue to live there. The decision of the SCC is final and cannot be appealed.
The “Ushkolova“ case became the occasion for the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev to initiate a comprehensive reform of the Arbitration Act.
In its decision, the Supreme Court of Cassation proved indisputably that the preliminary agreement entered into by the "disappeared into illegality" in the words of the Minister, the Sofia Commercial Arbitration Court, does not exist. "The evidence submitted in the case does not establish that there was a validly concluded agreement with an arbitration clause included in it," stated the last court of appeal. Therefore, the Supreme Court of Cassation accepted that there was a basis for annulling the arbitration award under Art. 47, para. 1, item 2 of the Arbitration Act.
The court also established that the respondent party was not duly notified of the appointment of an arbitrator and arbitration proceedings. This, in turn, is the second basis for annulling the decision on the basis of Art. 47, para. 1 item 4 of the Arbitration Act.
The company “Build Comfort 18“ has also been ordered to pay 28,197.93 leva to the court account.
“On July 31 of this year, I signed the Decree with which we promulgated the changes to the Arbitration Act in the presence of Ms. Ushkolova. At that time, we were still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation in her case, but she was pleased that her case had brought about a change that would deter other blatant attempts at theft and fraud“, commented Minister Georgiev.