This is an unofficial translation of the Lithuanian court judgment, provided for information only. The Lithuanian original is authoritative. Read the original (Lithuanian)

Civil case No [anonymised]

Judicial proceedings No [anonymised]

Categories of the procedural decision: 2.6.1.3.6;

2.6.1.5; 3.2.6.6.1; 3.2.6.6.2

VILNIUS CITY DISTRICT COURT

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

26 March 2025

Vilnius

Judge [anonymised] of the Vilnius City District Court, in written proceedings, examined the claim of the claimant, public limited company “[anonymised]”, against the defendant, private limited company “[anonymised]”, for recovery of a debt,

has established:

the claimant, private limited company (hereinafter UAB) “[anonymised]”, applied to the court with a claim asking the court to award from the defendant, UAB “[anonymised]”, in favour of the claimant, UAB “-”, a debt of €49,181.66, €367.20 of late-payment interest, €217.80 of costs incurred by the claimant, annual procedural interest of 6 per cent on the amount awarded by the court from the date the case was brought before the court until the judgment is fully enforced, and €1,471 of litigation costs, consisting of €500 for drafting the claim and €971 of stamp duty.

Procedural documents of the court were served on the defendant in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 123(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter the CCP) ([anonymised]). The defendant did not submit a response to the claim within the set time limit and did not state the reasons for not doing so, therefore, at the claimant’s request, a default judgment is being made (Article 142(4) and Article 285 of the CCP).

The claim is to be upheld in full.

Pursuant to Article 285(2) of the CCP, when making a default judgment the court carries out a formal assessment of the evidence in the case, that is, it satisfies itself that, if the content of that evidence is confirmed, there would be grounds for making such a judgment.

The data provided by the claimant show that on 20 September 2024 an agreement No [anonymised] (hereinafter the Agreement) was concluded between UAB “[anonymised]” (hereinafter the claimant) and UAB “[anonymised]” (hereinafter the defendant), under which the claimant undertook to sell and the defendant to buy the equipment specified in Annex No [anonymised] to the Agreement for a total of €49,181.66 (clause 2.1). The claimant issued the defendant the following VAT invoices: VAT invoice series [anonymised] No [anonymised] of 25 October 2024 for a total of €13,088.57 (hereinafter the invoice of 25 October 2024), whose payment deadline, as stated in the invoice itself, is 27 November 2024; and VAT invoice series [anonymised] No [anonymised] of 29 October 2024 for a total of €36,093.09 (hereinafter the invoice of 29 October 2024), whose payment deadline, as stated in the invoice itself, is 1 December 2024. The claimant asks the court to award in the claimant’s favour from the defendant a debt of €49,181.66 (€13,088.57 + €36,093.09).

Article 6.305(1) of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter the CC) lays down the general rule on contracts of sale, under which one party (the seller) undertakes to transfer a thing (goods) to the other party (the buyer) in ownership or by right of trust, and the buyer undertakes to accept the thing (goods) and to pay a specified sum of money (the price) for it. Article 6.371 of the CC provides that, under a wholesale contract of sale, the seller, a person engaged in trade, or the seller’s representative undertakes to transfer, within the agreed time, things that the seller has produced or acquired to the buyer in ownership (by right of trust) for the buyer’s business needs or other needs not related to personal, family or household use, and the buyer undertakes to pay the price. Under Article 6.38(1) of the CC, obligations must be performed in good faith, properly and within the set time limits in accordance with the requirements of laws or the contract, and where there are no such requirements, in accordance with the criteria of reasonableness.

The data submitted by the claimant, namely agreement No [anonymised] and the unpaid VAT invoices issued under it, prove that the defendant did not perform part of its obligation on time, since it did not pay the claimant for the goods, and therefore the claimant’s claim for €49,181.66 from the defendant is to be upheld (Articles 6.4, 6.38, 6.63, 6.200 and 6.205, Article 6.256(1) and Article 6.314 of the CC).

In addition, the Agreement provided for late-payment interest of 0.02 per cent (clause 6.2). The claimant asks the court to award from the defendant €367.20 of late-payment interest. A penalty is a sum of money set by law, by contract or by the court that the debtor must pay to the creditor if the obligation has not been performed or has been performed improperly (Article 6.71(1) of the CC). Penalties are regarded as the creditor’s future losses determined by the parties in advance, which the creditor does not have to prove. Article 6.72 of the CC provides that an agreement on penalties must be in writing. In clause 6.2 of the Agreement the parties agreed that, if the obligation to settle with the seller on time in the manner laid down in the agreement is breached, the buyer must, at the seller’s request, pay late-payment interest of 0.02 per cent on the unpaid amount for each day of delay, but not more than 5 per cent of the price of the equipment delivered late. Given that the defendant did not perform its contractual obligations, €367.20 of late-payment interest is to be awarded to the claimant from the defendant (Article 6.71(1) and Article 6.258(1) of the CC).

The claimant submitted evidence to the case that it incurred €217.80 of pre-litigation debt recovery costs, which it asks to be awarded from the defendant. Article 6.249(4)(3) of the CC provides that damages include reasonable costs related to recovering losses out of court. In this case, since the defendant did not settle with the claimant, the claimant had to seek recovery of the debt out of court. It therefore incurred costs that are to be regarded as losses within the meaning of Article 6.249(4)(3) of the CC. In view of this, €217.80 of pre-litigation recovery costs is to be awarded to the claimant from the defendant.

The claimant asks the court to award from the defendant annual interest of 6 per cent on the amount awarded from the date the case was brought before the court until the judgment is fully enforced. Article 6.37 of the CC provides that a debtor who has not performed its monetary obligation must pay interest, at the rate set by law or agreed by the parties, on the amount awarded from the date the case was brought before the court until the judgment is fully enforced. On the basis of the circumstances set out, annual interest of 6 per cent on the awarded amount of €49,766.66 is to be awarded to the claimant from the defendant from the date the case was brought before the court until the judgment is fully enforced (Article 6.37(2) and Article 6.210(1) of the CC).

Pursuant to Article 93(1) of the CCP, €1,471 of litigation costs is awarded to the claimant from the defendant, consisting of €971.00 of stamp duty (Article 80(1)(1) of the CCP) and €500.00 of costs of legal assistance (Article 88(1)(6) of the CCP).

In the case, €8.64 of costs related to the service of procedural documents were incurred. Since the claim is upheld in full, these costs are awarded to the State from the defendant (Article 96(1) and Article 92 of the CCP).

The court, guided by Article 142(4), Article 262 and Articles 285–286 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania,

rules:

to uphold the claim in full.

To award to the claimant, UAB “[anonymised]”, legal entity code [anonymised], from the defendant, UAB “-”, legal entity code [anonymised], a debt of €49,181.66 (forty-nine thousand one hundred and eighty-one euros and 66 cents), €367.20 (three hundred and sixty-seven euros and 20 cents) of late-payment interest, €217.80 (two hundred and seventeen euros and 80 cents) of pre-litigation recovery costs, and annual interest of 6% on the awarded amount (€49,766.66) from the date the case was brought before the court (21 January 2025) until the judgment is fully enforced,

To award to the claimant, UAB “[anonymised]”, legal entity code [anonymised], from the defendant, UAB “-”, legal entity code [anonymised], €1,471 (one thousand four hundred and seventy-one euros) of litigation costs.

To recover from the defendant, UAB “[anonymised]”, legal entity code [anonymised], in favour of the State €8.64 (eight euros and 64 cents) of costs related to the service of procedural documents. The amount awarded is payable to the revenue collection account of the budget of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, payment code [anonymised], with the payment receipt to be submitted to the court.

The defendant may not appeal against this default judgment by way of appeal or cassation, but within 20 days of the date on which the default judgment was made it has the right to submit to the court that made it an application for review of the default judgment, which must meet the requirements of Article 287 of the CCP.

The claimant has the right, within 20 days of the date on which the default judgment was made, to appeal against it to Vilnius Regional Court, submitting the appeal through Vilnius City District Court.

Judge [anonymised]