Spilbridge successful in the Supreme Court: multi-million provisional measures handled incorrectly by lower courts

We have been defending our clients against wrongful provisional measures in commercial litigation for years. Once again the Supreme Court has ruled that lower courts have mishandled multi-million provisional measures against our clients.

As a matter of Latvian Civil Procedure Rules, the existence of a good arguable case is one of the requirements to obtain provisional measures. It is not hard to demonstrate a good arguable case when the provisional measures are sought ex parte.

Once the provisional measures are communicated to the defendant, one would think that the defendant would have the right to demonstrate that the claimant has no good arguable case and hence to seek a lift of the provisional measures.

The Riga Regional Court ruled that we are wrong and that the provisional measures can only be lifted if the defendant is so wealthy in assets that there would be no judgement enforcement difficulties, as opposed to the legal deficiencies in the presented claim.

The Supreme Court has recently ruled that the Riga Regional Court was wrong and we were right. The Supreme Court has ruled that the legal deficiencies in the presented claim are legally relevant when the defendant seeks a lift of the ordered provisional measures.

As a result, our clients are expected to be releaved of a number of multi-million intimidating provisional measures in due course. Another six months spent to achieve a ruling which would be self-evident in the western Europe, but no in Latvia. Some say Latvia is unique when it comes to commercial litigation.