Bankrupting a builder, please advice

[Hans]

Please allow me to ask a simple question. I have a claim of about Ytl 30.000 against a builder. The court made an expert-report for this amount, but I did not start a court procedure yet because I doubt the builder will be able to pay, after a court verdict. No doubt we can win the case.

I know the same builder has other debts. My suggestion (looking at Dutch law) would be to apply for his bankruptcy. Now my lawyer tells me that I need a court order to affirm the claim first, before I can start the banruptcy procedure. Last time I asked him he told me that this was not necessary, so I am puzzled.

It seems strange to me: Two costly procedures against someone who can not pay anyway??

Does anyone know something about this law?

Hans van der Perk (Holland)

 

[yalicat]

In the UK you would have to get a county court judgment first then if the defendant failed to pay you could then apply for a bankruptcy order.

 

[Helenm150]

Are you using a Turkish lawyer - I think that would be best? I am in dispute myself at the moment with a builder who is threatening to sell my property to a third party because I am refusing to complete and make the final £7,000 payment until both the habitation certificate and tapu are available. He has had £50,000 of my money since last June and has only just come out of hiding! Helen

 

[Karyn UK]

On a point of law like this, without wanting to incur further costs for further legal opinion, it may be worth sending an email to the resident lawyer at Today's Zaman newspaper, his name is Berk Cektir and he has offered extremely good opinions in the past as his particular interest is interpreting Turkish law for foreign nationals. Here is a link to his latest (unrelated) article, his contact details are on the bottom of the story - Berk Cektir He will normally print a reply within a few days if he finds the story interesting.

Bankrupting anyone is always an absolute last resort as there are very few good outcomes, the lawyers get most of the money. With the speed that Turkish law moves it is unlikely that you would get your money back quickly and as bankruptcy does not carry the stigma in Turkey that it does in the west then the threat of it may not worry your builder and may even allow him time to transfer any assets to a third party.

If you absolutely cannot reach a mediated agreement with the builder, which would be the best and first option, then it may be worth considering other methods of getting your money back such as leins against assets or bailiff recovery of items to the value before formally bankrupting the builder.

K

 

[Helenm150]

This is good advice - I am at the bailiff's stage myself.

 

[Hans]

Thanks for reactions. I know bankruptcy does not solve all problems. Point is that the builder in question has no assets whatsoever. I want him legally out of the way so I can take over (e.g) his contract with Tedac electricity concerning my property. Now I am dependent of his "goodness" to provide me with electricity, water. (and so on and so on). It seems silly to have a court procedure first to establish his debt and then have another court procedure to get him into bankruptcy. A bit strange too is (to my feeling) the idea that in Turkey one can misbehave without civil (not criminal) legal consequences.
Agree?

Hans.

 

[chelsea boy]

I think they "chance it" because very few people take the court route. As said above its slow and costly. If you get an ICRA ( bailiff) order then they rush round the home and mark down all the assets. You never know he might have land or something that he wants to sell at a later date. The Icra stops him from doing it.

 

[no-nem]

Does his company hold any assets? if so you can obtain a freeze on the company shares, and providing you win your case in principle, you can get this blok within days. If you still get no dosh then you can apply to have the companies assets raided. (I know this as I nearly had to take this route with a builder who owed me for work on 3 houses and kept coming out with the now monotonous 'para yok' routine.) He has just agreed to cough up.
Providing you no the routes to use the courts can work for you quite rapidly. However some people know how to mess about to prolong the process.

 

[Mushtaq]

If the other person has assets then it's not too difficult to persuade him to cough up, as others have said the assets can be frozen and he will pay up, I had to do this and did get my money in the end.

If he has no assets then, it's probably a waste of time and money, better then to name and shame him so he doesn't have the opportunity to do it again.

 

[Hans]

Thanks for the suggestions,

Hans