Favourable court decision: Validating the property transfer and registering title over real estate encumbered by seizures in bankruptcy proceedings
Securing real estate assets: Registration under a EUR 1.5 million seizure
In its real estate and insolvency practice, the Sabău Avocați team recently obtained a landmark decision confirming the protection of good-faith creditors’ rights against judicial encumbrances of extreme complexity.
Case analysis
The case concerned a property belonging to a company in bankruptcy (Law 85/2006). The major difficulty was the presence of a precautionary seizure worth EUR 1.5 million, established before the company entered bankruptcy proceedings, which created a procedural and administrative deadlock regarding the transfer of ownership to the beneficiary of the sale-purchase agreement.
Outcome and legal implications
The legal strategy adopted aimed to unblock the land registration and secure recognition of the transaction’s validity, despite the substantial precautionary measures in place. The court confirmed our arguments through the following rulings:
- Substituting the notarial deed: Issuing a judgment that stands in place of the sale-purchase contract, obliging the judicial liquidator to complete the transfer.
- Unblocking the Land Registry: Successfully registering title to the property despite the EUR 1.5 million seizure, thereby securing the legal certainty of the asset for our client.
- Securing the outstanding claim: Ex officio registration of a legal mortgage (Art. 2,386(1) Civil Code) for the price difference of RON 58,500, balancing the interests of the buyer against those of the creditors’ pool.
Conclusions
This decision highlights the importance of a niche strategy at the intersection of civil and insolvency law. The outcome demonstrates that significant criminal or precautionary seizures are not an absolute barrier to land registration, when the correct legal mechanisms for prioritising legitimately acquired property rights are applied.
For Sabău Avocați, success in this case confirms our ability to manage critical real estate assets and provide our clients with predictability in uncertain judicial contexts.