In this article, lawyers from the company "Sudokhod" outline fifteen of the most popular methods of postponing a court hearing, which are often used in arbitration proceedings. However, it is worth taking into account the main approach of the courts when using them - preventing abuse of procedural rights.

1. Request for documents in accordance with Part 4 of Article 66 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation
To satisfy a petition for request for documents, which will lead to a postponement of the court hearing, it is necessary to indicate the importance of the requested documents for resolving the dispute, as well as the objective reasons preventing them from being provided. In practice, such petitions are filed at the stage of the preliminary court hearing, since during further consideration of the case, the court may have reasonable suspicions of a desire to delay the process.

2. Motion for falsification of documents
When declaring falsification of documents, one can expect a postponement of the court hearing if the object of the alleged falsification can really be such; in practice, lawyers often motion for falsification of contracts, the execution of which is not confirmed by bank transactions, decisions of general directors, and in the case of corporate disputes – decisions of general meetings (for example, when appealing such by a company member). If there are offshore companies among the parties to the process, the chances of satisfaction increase.

Resolution of the North Caucasus District Arbitration Court dated 11.08.2017 in case No. A53-29136/2016

The party requested a postponement of the court hearing to prepare a statement on falsification of evidence.

3. Request for an expert examination
An expert examination often delays the trial for several months; upon its completion, a request can be made for a repeat, additional, or comprehensive expert examination. At a minimum, the court will be forced to postpone the consideration of the case; however, if the expert examination takes too long, the proceedings will be suspended.

4. Appealing a court ruling
The court will be forced to postpone the hearing if a complaint is filed against its ruling. This method is guaranteed to have a positive effect, but it is the lot of dishonest lawyers to abuse it. Without some of the materials that will be transferred to a higher authority, the court will not be able to consider the case on its merits.

Resolution of the Moscow District Arbitration Court dated 26.04.2016 in case No. А40-165904/2015

5. Appearance of a third party with a statement to join the case with an independent claim
If a representative of a third party comes to the hearing with such a statement, then with his/her entry the case will be considered from the beginning. But if the court refuses to allow the entry of a third party, then this decision can be appealed.

Determination of the Court of Intellectual Property of 14.03.2013 in case No. SIP-73.2013

The court rejected the applicant’s decision because the details of third parties were not indicated and there was no justification for their involvement.

6. Petition to call a specialist or expert
In court proceedings, situations often arise when a foreign element appears in the case materials or the conclusions in the expert opinion are unclear, for the explanation of which special knowledge is needed.

Resolution of the North-West District Arbitration Court of 27.01.2015 in case No. A42-1190.2014

The court rejected the petition because the applicant did not justify the need to involve a specialist.

7. File a counterclaim
If the court accepts the counterclaim, then a postponement is inevitable. In order to leave the court no chance of refusal, it is necessary to observe all procedural subtleties (possible offset, the counterclaim completely or partially excludes the satisfaction of the original, joint consideration will lead to a faster and more correct consideration of disputes).

Resolution of the North-West District Arbitration Court dated 14.12.2017 in case No. A56-20444.2017.

The court regarded the oral request to postpone the court hearing for the purpose of preparing a counterclaim as an abuse of procedural rights.

8. Motion to Adjourn for Review of Case Materials
Many arbitration cases are dozens of volumes containing hundreds of documents. Reviewing them takes time.

Resolution of the FAS of the Moscow District dated 20.06.2014 in case No. A40-117697/13-6-1055.

9. Motion to postpone consideration for clarification of the plaintiff's claims
When studying the statement of claim and appendices, one can come across various errors and inaccuracies made by opponents, which can be reported during the process. When collecting accounts receivable, it makes sense to pay them partially, which will necessitate declaring a break or postponement for clarification of the plaintiff's claims.

Rulings of the Intellectual Property Court of 18.04.2018 in case No. SIP-54.2018

The court postponed the hearing to give the party an opportunity to prepare a response to the opponent's statements.
10. Motion to postpone the hearing for a valid reason
It is advisable to send this motion to the court in advance, if possible, to support your justification with documents (certificates from a medical institution, summonses, minutes, etc.).
11. Force Majeure
Various objective problems may occur in the life of a lawyer that cannot be expected, but which may affect the postponement of a court hearing.

12. Motion to suspend proceedings
When considering arbitration cases, a situation sometimes arises when it is necessary to suspend proceedings until another case is resolved in a higher court on a similar basis. In this case, it is necessary to indicate to the court that the resolution of this case may affect the resolution of another case.

Resolution of the Volga-Vyatka District Arbitration Court of 16.02.2015 in case No. A17-1277.2010

13. Submitting a request
To obtain evidence, the parties seek assistance from various organizations. If the court can prove the timeliness and necessity of these requests in the interests of the case, the court will postpone the consideration until responses to these requests are received.

Determination of the Intellectual Property Court of 12.09.2016 in case No. SIP-415\2016

14. Declare a settlement agreement
Courts must make every effort to allow time for the case to be resolved by a settlement agreement, but the court still has questions about intentions if a settlement agreement is declared by one party to the proceedings. In order to convince the court of the seriousness of your intentions, you need to provide the court with a draft settlement agreement.

Resolution of the Moscow District Arbitration Court dated September 28, 2016 in case No. A41-87172/2015

15. Petition to involve third parties who do not make independent claims regarding the subject of the dispute
When a third party enters the process, the case will be considered from the very beginning, the court must provide reasoned evidence why this person needs to be involved in the case, but the efforts expended will help to postpone the hearing, since the new participant in the case will need to familiarize himself with the materials, etc.
The lawyers of the Sudokhod company are always aware of the most current judicial practice and procedural decisions. Our experience allows us to do everything possible within the framework of the law and business ethics to achieve the client's goal.