The presence of removable defects is not a reason to refuse acceptance and payment under the state contract, the courts reminded
The parties agreed on the improvement of the square. During acceptance, defects were found in the works. Since they were not completely eliminated, the customer refused the contract. The contractor went to court to get paid.
Three instances recovered the money:
- the forensic examination found that the quality of the work did not meet the technical task, but the shortcomings were manageable. This is not a reason to refuse acceptance and payment;
- according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in such a situation, the customer may, for example, demand to reimburse the costs of eliminating defects or to reduce the price proportionately. He did not exercise this right.
Similar conclusions have recently been reached, in particular, by the Arbitration Court of the Central and Far Eastern Districts.
Document: Resolution of the Arbitration Court of the North-Western District of 09.03.2023 in case N A05-14727/2020