The state customer illegally refused the contract — the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation obliged to compensate the contractor for losses
The parties signed a contract for the work. The execution was guaranteed. The customer refused the contract, but the decision was declared illegal. The contractor went to court to recover damages.
The first instance and the appeal were collected:
- partly the cost of the warranty. The contractor performed a number of works and received a profit for them, which means that a share of these costs has already been compensated;
- payment under two subcontracting agreements. The rest were concluded after the refusal of the contract, their necessity was not proved;
- state duty.
The cassation changed its decisions and refused part of the costs of the guarantee. Under the contract, the customer does not reimburse any costs of the contractor's obligations, except for unforeseen ones, if they are not included in the estimate. To provide a guarantee is an obligation, therefore there are no grounds to collect such expenses.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not agree with the cassation:
- if the execution failed due to the fault of the customer, the contractor's costs for the guarantee form losses. The contractor cannot reduce them, since the Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not allow the termination of the guarantee at his request. The first instance and the appeal made the right decisions;
- the argument of the cassation that the customer should not reimburse the costs of the guarantee, if this is provided for in the contract, is incorrect. The principle of freedom of contract does not allow excluding or limiting liability for intentional breach of obligations.
Document: Definition of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 07.07.2022 N 307-ES22-3600