Vindication or vindication lawsuit is one of the methods in civil law that is used to protect property. The procedure is not easy, therefore, before filing a claim, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the nuances.
Vindication is a method of removing property from illegal possession by another person or legal entity. To draw up a competent vindication claim, you will need legal assistance or certain knowledge in this area.
Vindication in Roman law and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation
The concept of a vindication claim was described in Roman law. The main task of vindication is to protect property rights. The requirements set out in the framework of the statement of claim are aimed at returning property to the owner from the illegal possession of another person.
In Roman law, situations were spelled out in which, on the basis of a vindication statement, property could be seized both from an unscrupulous owner (if he took possession of it in a fraudulent way) and from a legal one (if he acquired property from an unscrupulous owner).
Similar situations are spelled out in the modern Civil Code of the Russian Federation. A vindication claim can be filed against property that was acquired by the owner for a fee, but before that was in illegal ownership of the seller. The property could have been obtained in several illegal ways:
- theft;
- fraudulent activities;
- loss.
Also, a vindication claim can be filed for property that was transferred to a person free of charge, for example, was donated.
Subjects of the right to vindication
The owner of the property or his authorized representative has the right to file a claim for vindication. In this case, the subject claiming the disputed property must provide evidence of his right. To do this, it is necessary to provide an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate in court. The exception is the cases prescribed in the Law No. 281-FZ Art. 69.
The ownership of any movable property can be confirmed on the basis of the provided purchase and sale agreement, according to which the current owner acquired it from the previous one. The following facts are also required to prove the claim:
- The plaintiff has a property right to the disputed property. If the court establishes that the right to dispose of the property was obtained as a result of a void transaction, then the right to property will be denied.
- The fact of the defendant's possession of the disputed property without a legal basis must be established. There should be no agreement between the disputing parties.
- The fact of the absence or incomplete presentation of one of the above conditions also serves as a refusal to satisfy the claim.
Refusal or satisfaction of the claim must take place exclusively in court.
Vindication of shares
Shares are classified as securities on the basis of Law No. 39-FZ dated April 22, 1996. Shares are issued only in uncertificated form and, according to the law, are classified (Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) as objects of property rights.
If the securities were transferred from one copyright holder to another owner, then on the basis of Art. 149.3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the former may require a similar return of securities, as well as reimbursement of expenses spent on this operation.
What is subject to vindication
In order for the property to be suitable for vindication, it is necessary to establish a certain set of factors for it:
- Vindication property must necessarily have individually defined characteristics. If the property has generic characteristics, then it must be individualized.
- The property at the time of the court session is physically in the possession of another person.
- The plaintiff, in accordance with the established procedure, proved his right to own the property.
- The plaintiff proved that the subject of the dispute was taken out of his possession in an illegal way.
- There is no contractual relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant.
Within the framework of the court session, the object of vindication can be both securities and cash.
Vindication and restitution
Vindication and restitution claims have a different legal nature of origin and subjective composition.
Vindication is a contestation of property that is in illegal use by another copyright holder. If the property was acquired not from the owner, but from a subject without authority, then we are talking about vindication. The owner of the property or his authorized representative has the right to file a claim for the vindication of the disputed property.
Restitution is understood as the restoration of the position of the parties, which was assigned to them before the conclusion of an invalid transaction. If one party claims the return of property that it believes was obtained by another user on the basis of an illegal transaction, then the claim will contain specific claims for restitution. The dominant feature in this case will be the registration of contractual relations between the parties, which were invalidated during the meeting.
The legal origin of both methods of returning the disputed property excludes their simultaneous use.
Rules for drawing up a claim
There are certain rules by which a vindication claim must be drawn up. Without fail, the application must contain the legal basis for its submission. For a vindication statement of claim, these are:
- information about the circumstances under which the property was transferred from the possession of the claimant (this information should include a specific date);
- the circumstances under which the defendant obtained possession of the property, provided that they are generally known to the plaintiff;
- a note about the absence of contractual relations concerning the disputed property between the two parties.
As an attachment to the statement of claim, an extract from the USRR must be attached, for real estate - a certificate of registration of rights, for other things - documents on the acquisition. Also, the vindication claim must contain the following information:
- passport details of both parties;
- contact details of the plaintiff;
- the cost of the claim;
- proof of ownership;
- list of attached documents;
- date and signature of the plaintiff.
The application must be accompanied by a document (receipt) confirming the payment of legal services and state fees. The amount of the state duty directly depends on the amount of the statement of claim.
Vindication claims, in which any movable property is the subject of the dispute, must be filed in a court located at the place of residence of the defendant. If the object of the dispute is real estate or a land plot, then a statement of claim can be filed with a court located at the location of this property.
Case from judicial practice
The court considered a vindication claim for the illegal use of a private house. According to the materials of the case, a contract of purchase and sale of a private house with a total area of 50.1 sq.m. was concluded between Smirnova and Smirnov. The contract was officially registered with the cadastral service.
On the basis of legal ownership, Smirnova decided to make repairs in the house. But when the woman entered the room, it turned out that Ivanova lived there. Smirnova did not give her consent to use the property. She filed a vindication lawsuit in court, in which she legally set out her demands for the release of her living space.
Ivanova, in turn, filed a motion to consider the case without her presence. The court satisfied the claims of Smirnova in full.