INTRODUCTION
Law firm Juraj Marinić specializes in the collection of monetary claims, providing clients with comprehensive legal support in all stages of the collection process (in alternative dispute resolution proceedings and court enforcement proceedings), from initial consultation to the final realization of collection, both in the Republic of Croatia and abroad, in cooperation with the partners there.
We combine our long-standing experience, knowledge and quality in the collection of monetary claims for clients with constant monitoring of trends and needs of our clients, along with continuous professional education and training of our staff and investment in the most recent IT technologies.
Our Firm prides itself on the efficiency and speed in solving the collection of monetary claims, where we approach each client individually, ensuring a personalized service in accordance with the needs of the clients.
In this sense, our services include the management of procedures and disputes and other legal processes, with a tailored approach to the specific needs of each client, in order to ensure optimal results and legal protection for the client.
THE ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES AND ACTIONS TO RECOVER MONETARY CLAIMS ON BEHALF OF CLIENTS
In the event of non-realization of the client’s claim from the debtor in an alternative dispute resolution procedure (which is possible, but not mandatory), and in order to operationally present our work in the best possible way and the ways in certain forced enforcement procedures, we provide herewith an overview of the scope of actions in standard enforcement procedures on the basis of an authentic document, as follows:
- entry of the client’s case (in an Excel or similar IT format table – with basic data + invoices, statements of outstanding items, or other scanned original documents), including:
- separation and selection of cases not suitable for legal action (deceased and deregistered natural persons, legal entities in bankruptcy, pre-bankruptcy settlement, non-existent and deleted legal entities)
- copying necessary data into tables for case entry into the IT system (name, surname, address, contract account, claim amount)
- copying the invoice from the invoice table, the due date as well as each individual amount to be paid;
- after entering the cases into the system to be tracked through the e-enforcement IT platform, the cases are entered into the e-enforcement system;
Data to be entered:
- Creditor - all data
- Creditor’s lawyer - all data
- Debtor - all data
- Claims - each individual invoice is recorded with the amount, due date, type of interest, IBAN (for payment), payment release reference number, and payment model;
- after filling in all data, a proposal for enforcement is generated and submitted to the competent Court via the unique electronic system for e-enforcement;
- once the data regarding the submitted enforcement is received, the information (Notary, court case number, notary case number) is entered into the creditor’s table and the system so that we have the necessary data;
- we receive an payment request for the advance payment of enforcement costs from the Notary via e-communication, which we send to the client via e-mail every day;
- after the notary receives the case (there is a 30-day deadline for processing the case), the notary sends the debtor a notice with the enforcement proposal, under which the debtor can pay the principal amount with interest, along with the lawyer’s fee and the notary’s delivery fee of € 12.50 within 15 days.
Since some notaries require proof of payment for the advance payment, once the client makes the payment and provides proof, we send the same proof to the notary via e-communication.
Alternatively, we suggest installing the VACO system to facilitate and speed up the collection of the notary’s advance payment in the enforcement process. This way the notary directly collects the advance payment for each individual case (most notaries have this system installed). Otherwise, if the advance payment is not effected on time, the notary will not act on the case.
Additionally, it is necessary for the client to open an account with FINA for the collection of advance payments related to the enforcement of specific enforcement titles, and to provide a general power of attorney for the lawyer to represent them before FINA (our employees offer complete support to clients in all these technical procedures and details);
- after the 15-day period, during which the debtor could pay the debt, the notary issues an enforcement order, which is sent to the debtor by registered mail for the first time (FIRST SERVICE).
If the debtor does not receive the order on the first service, no less than 30 and no more than 60 days should pass before the second service is attempted (SECOND SERVICE). If the debtor does not receive the enforcement order on the second service either, the order is posted on the court’s notice board, where it remains for 8 days. On the ninth (9th) day, the enforcement order is removed from the notice board, and 17 days thereafter, the enforcement order becomes final and enforceable;
- Once the enforcement order becomes final and enforceable, our employees verify with the client whether there have been any payments in the case, and based on the payment data received, the case is submitted for enforcement (enforced collection) at FINA with the necessary documentation (by completing FINA’s Request for Collection);
- Immediately after submitting the case to FINA for forced collection, the competent court is requested to award the client - the bailiff the first (1st) further cost, by submitting the request to the Court via e-communication, along with attaching documentation, i.e. the cost of delivering a valid and enforceable decision on enforcement based on an authentic document to FINA for implementation, because the bailee did not pay the due claim within the Paris deadline (deadline for voluntary settlement of claims) (request for collection with a stamp from FINA, scanned final and enforceable decision about enforcement;
- after the competent court issues a decision on the first (1st) further cost, we immediately request the clause of finality and enforceability for that decision (once the decision gains those properties);
- once we receive the final and enforceable decision on the first (1st) further cost, it is submitted for execution at FINA (of course, if the debtor has not voluntarily paid the cost based on that decision), along with the completion of the Request for Direct Collection with the necessary documentation (scanned final and enforceable decision);
- immediately after submitting the case for execution at FINA, we request the second (2nd) further cost by submitting a request to the Court, asking for the awarding of this cost via e-communication, along with the necessary documentation (request for direct collection of the first ( 1st) further costs with FINA stamp, scanned final and enforceable decision on the further cost);
- Once we receive the final and enforceable decision on the second (2nd) further cost, it is submitted for execution at FINA (of course, if the debtor has not voluntarily paid the cost), along with the completion of the Request for Direct Collection with the necessary documentation (scanned final and enforceable decision).
In the case of litigation and handling a large number of individual enforcement files, and due to daily payments for individual cases, the client must have persons available to verify these payments, so that we can react on in a timely manner with appropriate procedural actions (e.g. timely suspension of enforcement if payment is made before the enforcement order is issued, etc.)
LAWSUIT
Of course, if the debtor lodges a timely and proper objection to the enforcement decision based on a credible document, and challenges the enforcement decision, the court’s decision will invalidate the enforcement order issued by the public notary based on the credible document, all enforcement actions will be cancelled, and the procedure will continue as a complaint against a payment order (the case will go to court).
For each lawsuit, we will request the client to provide the relevant material documentation to prove the validity and amount of each claim, as this is necessary for the successful management of these litigation procedures. Therefore, we require adequate support (a person at the client’s location) to deliver the requested documentation.
Once an individual decision becomes final, and depending on the content of that decision, we will verify with the client whether any payment has been made in the case. If no payment has been made, we will proceed with enforcement at FINA in the same manner previously described for unpaid claims under final and enforceable enforcement decisions based on a credible document.
ENFORCEMENT AGAINST HEIRS AND LEGAL SUCCESSORS
- in the event of the debtor’s death (for a natural person) or the dissolution of a legal entity debtor, after initiating the enforcement procedure, we obtain the inheritance decision for the deceased debtor or the relevant documentation on the termination of the legal entity debtor, and if there is property and heirs (or legal successors of legal entities), we will initiate enforcement against the heirs and legal successors.
- the procedure is generally identical to that for enforcing active debtors, with a slightly higher level of input in the e-enforcement system due to typically having more heirs or legal successors (and thus more debtors), which results in a higher number of technical actions for data entry and other technical operationalisations due to the increased number of debtors.
IMPORTANT NOTE!
The proposed model can be further segmented and customized to the client’s specific needs.
The lawyer’s fee is charged only if it is collected from the opposite party - the debtor, and to the extent it is collected.
If any part of the lawyer’s fee in a particular case is not collected from the opposing party - the debtor, the client (the creditor) is not required to pay the lawyer the fees that were not collected from the opposing party.