Any claim made against your company is troublesome. With a well-devised and consistent strategy, however, you can avoid unreasonable loss, including any trouble to your company (financial loss, damage to the company's reputation, etc.).

If, nevertheless, you have faced the problem, please read the recommendations given below. This information is based on the laws in force in Kazakhstan, and a decade of our successful legal experience.

It is impossible to consider all possible claims and give recommendations on them. However, our best recommendation is to consult a professional in case of any claim or suit.

This is important even if you are convinced that the claims are groundless. At least, you should ask professionals how to correctly react to the claims.

I. Difference between a claim and a suit. Your reaction to a claim.

The main difference between a claim and a suit is that a suit can be a ground for an action to be brought before the court (action proceedings), while a claim regulates relationship between the claiming party and the party receiving the claim.

You may reply (positively or negatively) to the claim or ignore it.

We, however, recommend beginning negotiations with your partner for the following reasons: during negotiations, you may find out how serious and reasonable your partner's intentions are and what his/her plans are; you may reach a certain compromise without any litigation.

During negotiations, you should consider the following:

1. Check the amounts claimed. As a rule, the sums in the claim considerably exceed the actual amounts.
2. Analyse the history of your relationship with the partner (correspondence, financial documents, agreements, etc.). Does your partner have any outstanding liabilities to you and to what extent' Do you have any counter-claims. It can have an affect on your position in the negotiations and their results.
3. Do not hand over or sign any documents without prior consultation with your lawyer (this can be used against you, for instance, it can be taken as your acknowledgment of the debt, etc.).
4. Strengthen confidentiality protection within your company. It may be that your partner has already attempted to analyse the standing of your company and your plans.
5. If you have received any positive results from the negotiations, insist on signing mutual documents in writing (minutes of the meetings, preliminary agreements, exchange of letters, etc.). This may give certain guarantees, if your partner changes its position or withdraws the claim.

II. General recommendations on the analysis of the claim (suit) contents.

So, when a claim is made or a suit is brought against your company, you should answer the following questions:

1. Is it you who is liable for the claim (suit), i.e. is it your company that violated (or is violating) someone else's rights and interests.
2. Are the claims lawful, i.e. are they based on the laws in force
3. Is the claimed amount reasonable (which portion is reasonable and which can be disputed)
4. Has the time limit for the claims expired or not Please note that the general limitation on action is three years since the date when a person found out or should have found out any breach by your company of his/her rights.
5. Has the claim (suit) been signed by the top executive If the claim (suit) was signed by another person, is this person an authorized signatory

III. Initiation of a trial against your company.

3.1. You receive a summons and a copy of the statement of claim.

If a trial is initiated against your company, the court will issue a summons which must be delivered to your company. Representatives of your company must confirm the receipt by their signature.

Please note the following:

1. Any notices and summons shall be sent in advance, so that you are able to prepare for the trial and appear before court in due time. Therefore, you should write the date of the summons and the time of receipt. In the future, you may, if necessary, request additional time in order to prepare for the trial (scrutinize the documents, prepare the reply to the statement of claim, etc.) when the notice period is insufficient.
2. In addition to the summons, the judge must send you a copy of the statement of claim and copies of any attachments thereto. If the court courier did not bring any documents with the summons, you should indicate this fact in the summons and ask the courier to sign it.

3.2. Reply to the statement of claim.

In accordance with the procedural legislation of Kazakhstan, a defendant is not obliged to give any written objections to the statement of claim (reply to the statement of claim). This means that neither the court, nor the plaintiff is entitled to demand any written reply on the claims.

However, submission of a reply on the statement of claim is a very important step, since:

1. This will help the court to understand your position more clearly.
2. You should not fully rely on the minutes of a court session, because the court recorder may record your statements and demands inaccurately or incompletely.
3. It may be used during a possible trial in the court of appeals. The reply to the statement of claim may be given at any stage of the litigation, prior to the pronouncement of the judgment. However, the earlier you give the reply, the sooner the court forms an unbiased vision of the situation.

3.3. Application for postponement of the trial.

If you believe that you are poorly prepared for the trial (you have not studied the materials, have not prepared the reply to the statement of claim, etc.) due to insufficient time, you may appeal for the postponement of the trial.

3.4. Counter-claim

If you are convinced that, for instance:

• D.the plaintiff's claims against your company are groundless or his/her actions have caused (are causing) damage to the rights and interests of your company; or 
• E.the documents (agreements, minutes) on which the plaintiff relies are invalid, you can state this before court and make a counter-claim against the plaintiff for:
• F.payment of damages caused to your company; or G.declaring the documents on which the plaintiff relies and the statement of claim invalid.

The counter-claim may be made at any stage of the litigation, prior to the pronouncement of the judgement.

When making a counter-claim, however, you must ensure that your demands are reasonable and are related closely to the original claim.

In addition, we would like to stress that, since the firm's establishment, GRATA has successfully represented its clients interests in litigation and pre-trial settlements involving the most complicated cases (debt recovery, protection of clients's interests from unlawful actions by government authorities and third parties, protection of ownership, etc.).

Below are some of the steps that GRATA has taken in settling claims:

• pre-trial and court representation of interests of the largest Kazakhstani bank in respect of debt recovery, repossession of mortgaged property, invalidation of transactions, etc.;
• pre-trial representation of the interests of a national company in Kazakhstan in its relations with international (foreign) companies under the laws of foreign states;
• successful defence of the interests of a large oil company in litigation with the Ministry of State Revenues in respect to a claim for the sum exceeding nine million US dollars.