The court refused to recover 3.7 billion rubles from Ozon due to a warehouse fire
The company's representative believes that the decision may set a precedent that will allow tenants to defend their position in situations of force majeure, notes Pravo.ru.

The “Orientir Zapad-1” company, which owns the Ozon warehouse in Moscow Oblast, that burned down in 2022, filed a lawsuit with the Moscow City Arbitration Court to recover losses in the amount of 3.7 billion rubles from the marketplace (case no. A40-221245/2024). According to the plaintiff, the fire in the warehouse occurred due to the defendant's failure to comply with fire safety requirements.

The court of the first instance completely rejected the claim. The court did not establish the guilt of “Internet Solutions”, which manages the Ozon marketplace, in the fire, pointing out that if a company rents a warehouse, it does not automatically entail liability for fire damage.

When making the decision, the court referred to the lease agreement concluded between the parties. In accordance with the agreement, the “Orientir Zapad-1” company is responsible for the installation and operability of all fire extinguishing systems, and Ozon is responsible only for the safety of fire-fighting equipment.

The plaintiff disagreed with these conclusions and filed an appeal. On May 12, the Ninth
Arbitration Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision and dismissed the complaint.
The court's decision forms a good practice that will allow tenants to defend their position in cases of large-scale fires and accidents, said Kirill Belskiy, a representative of Ozon and Managing Partner of Belskiy & Partners. According to him, when concluding a contract, the lessor usually places all responsibility for engineering systems, even those installed by himself, on the tenant. And more often than not, tenants are accused of abusing them in cases of force majeure. The courts do not take into account the division of responsibility, even if the parties have included such clauses in the agreement. With the new approach, the courts will take into account not only the formal status in the relationship between the tenant and the lessor, but also facts that gave rise to the dispute.
Kirill Belskiy, Managing partner

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