Bachmann/Partners has won a case in the Eastern High Court concerning the ownership of a car that the bankruptcy estate of a leasing company asserted a claim to against our client.
The case originates from a leasing company’s bankruptcy in 2022 and is one of several disputes regarding the cars between the lessees and the bankruptcy estate that have arisen in the aftermath of the Danish Tax Agency’s review of the company’s leasing structures, which led to the leasing company’s bankruptcy.
The core of the case
The dispute concerned whether ownership of the car vested in the leasing company or our client, who had acquired the car from a person who had previously leased it from the leasing company under a financial leasing agreement and, in connection with its termination, had fulfilled their obligation to designate a buyer and sold it to our client. Our client subsequently received the leasing company’s assistance for a short period in registering the car on a proportional registration tax scheme. It was on the basis of this arrangement that the bankruptcy estate claimed that the car belonged to the estate.
The bankruptcy estate of the leasing company claimed that the vehicle belonged to the estate, including with reference to:
However, our client had already reported the leasing company for document forgery in 2021, as the signature on the leasing agreement submitted to the Danish Motor Vehicle Agency was not our client’s, and our client had also paid the full registration tax following the Danish Motor Vehicle Agency’s inspection.
At the same time, the leasing company had itself informed our client that the car was free of liens and encumbrances at the end of the period with proportional registration tax. Moreover, the leasing company had not enforced any of the terms stated in the alleged leasing agreement between the parties.
The High Court’s decision
The Eastern High Court fully ruled in favor of our client and established that:
The fact that the car had previously been registered under a proportional registration tax scheme with the participation of the leasing company could not in itself lead to the leasing company being regarded as the owner of the car.
Criminal proceedings
The Danish Tax Agency had brought liability proceedings against the lessee for evasion of registration tax, which we subsequently had discontinued, and the case is now fully and finally concluded for our client.
The case before the Eastern High Court as well as the subsequent criminal proceedings were handled by our strong team of specialists in, among other areas, registration tax and leasing.
For further information or advice on the above, please contact Diana Mønniche, dme@bachmann-partners.dk, tel. +45 20 71 78 62, or Mie Nymann Due, mny@bachmann-partners.dk, tel. +45 20 42 86 93
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