Rejection of Application for Conservatory Attachment – Freezing of Bank Accounts
Papatriantafyllou & Thanasenari achieved a significant legal victory, successfully preventing the unjust conservatory attachment of its client’s bank bank accounts.
The Court fully rejected the opposing party’s request to freeze all of our client’s bank accounts for an amount of €800,000. Similarly, it dismissed the request for access to transaction records related to the movement of these accounts.
Case Background
The opposing party, acting as a bankruptcy trustee, sought to freeze our client’s bank accounts, claiming that the amount of €800,000 originated from the sale of a vessel, which, according to their allegations, belonged to the bankrupt company’s assets.
Key Facts of the Case:
The bankrupt company had paid €1,100,000 to acquire a single-ship company that owned the disputed vessel.
After the bankruptcy declaration, the trustee filed a lawsuit seeking to transfer ownership of the vessel to the bankrupt company.
However, before the bankruptcy, a contractual agreement had already been made between the single-ship company and a foreign company for the vessel’s sale for €800,000.
This amount was deposited into our client’s bank accounts, while the actual transfer of ownership occurred after the bankruptcy declaration.
Believing that this €800,000 should be part of the bankruptcy estate, the trustee filed an application for interim measures, seeking to freeze our client’s bank accounts.
First Court Decision: Rejection of the Attachment Request
Initially, the opposing party filed an application before the First Instance Court against the single-ship company, the foreign acquiring company, and our client, requesting, among other measures, the conservatory attachment of our client’s bank accounts.
In its ruling, the Court recognized that the vessel was part of the bankruptcy estate. However, it entirely dismissed the trustee’s request to freeze our client’s bank accounts as unfounded.
Second Court Decision: Dismissal of a New Attachment Request
Following this decision, the opposing party submitted a new application for interim measures against our client and a banking institution, arguing that new evidence and changed circumstances justified a reconsideration. Specifically, they requested:
- The freezing of all our client’s bank accounts for the amount of €800,000.
- Access to transaction records related to our client’s accounts for a specific period.
After carefully reviewing the factual circumstances and the legal arguments presented by our expert legal team, the Court once again fully adopted our position and rejected the opposing party’s request, ruling that:
The application for conservatory attachment was inadmissible, due to res judicata (negative effect), as a prior court decision had already rejected a similar request. Since the request for attachment was denied, the application for access to bank transaction records was also deemed inadmissible due to lack of legitimate interest.
The Significance of This Decision
his legal victory demonstrates our firm’s ability to:
Prevent unjust financial restrictions on our client, ensuring their financial stability.
Successfully defend our client’s rights against unfounded claims.
Showcase our expertise in resolving complex financial and corporate disputes with strategic precision.
At Papatriantafyllou & Thanasenari, we remain committed to delivering top-tier legal solutions and protecting our clients’ interests with proven results.