The debtor objected to the court order for payment: what to do next

Once the court notifies you of the debtor’s objections, you have fourteen days from service of that notice to file a statement of claim under the general rules of contentious procedure and to pay the missing part of the court fee (Article 439(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPK)). The court fee already paid for the court order is credited towards the fee for the claim (Article 434(2) CPK). If no properly drafted claim is filed within that period, the application is deemed not filed, and the court order and any interim measures are cancelled (Article 439(6) CPK). If the debtor disputes only part of the debt, the court issues a new court order for the undisputed part (Article 439(4) CPK).

How the court order for payment works, what it costs in court fees and what happens once it becomes final is covered in our article Court order, court fee and bailiff in Lithuania: what happens next. This article covers only what happens after objections.

What objections are and why they need no reasons

After issuing the court order for payment (teismo įsakymas), the court sends the debtor a notice. It invites the debtor, within twenty days of service, to pay the amounts awarded or to lodge objections (Article 437(2)(1) CPK). The debtor lodges objections with the court that issued the order, against the whole claim or part of it (Article 439(1) CPK).

Objections are made in writing. They must meet the general requirements for procedural documents, except the requirement to state the grounds of the objections (Article 439(2) CPK). So the debtor does not have to explain why they disagree. The CPK draws no distinction between reasoned and unreasoned objections: in both cases the court, on receiving objections, informs the creditor of the right to file a claim (Article 439(3) CPK).

This follows from the nature of the court order. When issuing it, the court does not examine whether the creditor’s claim is well founded (Article 435(3) CPK). No evidence is attached to the application for a court order for payment (Article 433(3) CPK). If you file a claim, the debt will be examined on the merits, with evidence.

The deadline for the claim: fourteen days

On receiving objections, the court must, within three working days, notify the creditor that the creditor may, within fourteen days of service of that notice, file a claim and pay the missing part of the court fee (Article 439(3) CPK). The period runs from service of the court’s notice on you, not from the day the objections reached the court.

When a document counts as served, in particular when the court sends it electronically, and how the last day of a period is counted, is explained in our article Court deadlines in Lithuania: when they start and how to extend them.

During this period, interim measures ordered by the court cannot be lifted (Article 439(3) CPK). If the debtor’s assets have been frozen, the freeze stays in place during this period.

File the claim with the court that issued the court order. By the ruling on whether to accept the claim, that court also cancels the court order or the relevant part of it and, where necessary, transfers the case to the court with jurisdiction (Article 439(5) CPK).

Court fee for the claim

The court fee paid for the court order is credited towards the court fee payable for the claim (Article 434(2) CPK). With the claim, only the missing part of the court fee is paid (Article 439(3) CPK). Attach proof that the court fee has been paid to the claim (Article 135(2) CPK).

What to put in the claim and what to attach

The claim must meet the requirements of Article 135 CPK (Article 439(3) CPK). In addition to the general requirements for a procedural document, the claim states (Article 135(1) CPK):

• the amount claimed;
• the circumstances on which you base the claim (the factual basis);
• the evidence proving those circumstances, the witnesses’ places of residence and where other evidence is located;
• what you ask the court to award;
• your view on a default judgment if no statement of defence is filed;
• whether the case will be handled through an advocate and, if so, the advocate’s name and work address;
• your view on the possibility of a settlement, if you wish to give it, and on your intention and the possibilities of resolving the dispute through court mediation.

Attach the documents and other evidence on which you rely, proof that the court fee has been paid, and any requests for the court to obtain evidence you cannot produce, with the reasons (Article 135(2) CPK). Since no evidence was attached to the application for the court order (Article 433(3) CPK), now provide everything the debt rests on: the contract, invoices, delivery or acceptance documents, bank statements and correspondence with the debtor.

If the debtor gave reasons in the objections, answer them in the claim straight away. The debtor’s notice said that, from the day the case was brought in court until the judgment is fully performed, the debtor must, under the Civil Code, pay interest and any penalties set by law or contract if the obligation was not performed or was performed improperly (Article 437(2)(3) CPK). Include this request in the claim as well.

After objections, Article 439 CPK provides for a claim under the general rules of contentious procedure (Article 439(3) CPK). That article does not mention the documentary procedure.

If the debtor disputes only part of the debt

A debtor who has paid or admits part of the claim may object only to the rest (Article 439(1) CPK). The court then issues a new court order for the undisputed part (Article 439(4) CPK). For the disputed part, you may file a claim in the same way and within the same period.

If the debtor objects only to the award of litigation costs, the court decides that issue by a ruling (Article 439(4) CPK).

Late objections

If no objections are lodged within twenty days, the court order becomes final (Article 436(7) CPK). The court may accept late objections only at the debtor’s request, and only after renewing the time limit if it was missed for important reasons (Article 439(2) CPK). Late objections alone therefore do not start the period for your claim. It starts only when the court notifies you that objections have been received (Article 439(3) CPK). If the court has notified you of objections, file the claim within fourteen days of service of that notice, even if you consider the objections late (Article 439(3) CPK).

What happens if you do not file a claim

• The application is deemed not filed. It is returned by a court ruling, and the court order and interim measures are cancelled. The ruling may be challenged by a separate appeal. This does not prevent you from filing a claim later under the general procedure (Article 439(6) CPK).
• The court fee is not refunded. The fee paid for the court order is then not refunded (Article 434(3) CPK).
• Limitation. The limitation period is interrupted by bringing a claim in the manner laid down by law (Article 1.130(1) of the Civil Code (CK)). A claim the court left unexamined through the claimant’s fault does not interrupt it; nor does a claim the court refused to accept or one the claimant withdrew (Article 1.130(4) CK). The Civil Code does not deal separately with an application for a court order that is deemed not filed. In such a case the Court of Appeal of Lithuania, applying the test set by an extended panel of the Supreme Court, looked at whether the application was deemed not filed through the creditor’s fault (Court of Appeal of Lithuania, ruling of 14 June 2022 in civil case No e2A-325-407/2022; Supreme Court of Lithuania, ruling of 29 March 2013 in civil case No 3K-7-28/2013). So do not rely on the application for the court order having interrupted the limitation period. File the claim within the fourteen days, and if the limitation period ends earlier, before it ends: expiry of the limitation period before the claim is brought is a ground for dismissing the claim if the debtor asks the court to apply limitation (Article 1.126(2) CK; Article 1.131(1) CK). Limitation periods are covered in our article How long do you have to recover a debt in court, and what documents do you need?.

If you missed the period for important reasons, the court may renew it (Article 78(1) CPK). The claim itself is filed together with the request for renewal (Article 78(3) CPK). The request must give reasons and attach evidence (Article 78(4) CPK). Whether a reason is important is for the court to decide, so you cannot count on it in advance.

If the debtor pays or you settle

If the debtor performs the court order within twenty days and submits written proof to the court, the court cancels the court order and ends the case (Article 439(7) CPK). If after the court order you conclude a settlement and the court approves it, the same ruling cancels the court order (Article 439(8) CPK).

More on debt recovery

• Debt recovery in court: service page
• Applying for a court order for payment: which court and what to state
• Documentary procedure in Lithuania: recovering a debt proven by documents
• Costs in a debt case in Lithuania: what the debtor must pay

How to start

Send us the court’s notice of the objections with the date you received it, the debtor’s objections and the documents the debt rests on: the contract, invoices, bank statements and correspondence. Send them as soon as you receive the notice, because the fourteen days run from its service. We will assess the objections and prepare the claim.

Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt

More about this service: debt recovery in court.