9 year old orphan Vanya Chaplygin is forced to pay for the alleged debts of his mother
From Komsomolskaya Pravda:
In Moscow, a 45-year-old attorney Alexey Panikorovskiy filed lawsuit against a 9 years old boy Ivan Chaplygin. The reason is debt remaining after boy mother’s death.
- Vanya is orphan. His father died when the boy was just one year old. Three years ago he lost his mother, – explains the boy’s relative, Irina Bauman. After the child became orphan she took him in her guardianship.
But where is the huge debt from? It all started about 11 years ago when the boy’s mother, Elena rented her apartment to the lawyer Alexey Panikorovskiy.
- In 2000 he settled in their two-room apartment in 4th Samotechniy Street. At first, he paid the rent, but then – after Elena’s death – for a year lived without paying. He said that made a forward payment in advance. – said Irina Bauman.
After Vanya’s relatives asked him to leave the apartments [a year later] – Panikorovskiy suddenly presented voucher according to which Elena owed him more than 561 thousand rubles!
- We don’t know when and under what circumstances she borrowed this money. The voucher itself is just the document printed on computer with the signature, which allegedly belongs to Elena, – say Vanya’s relatives.
But even if it’s true, the man’s actions are difficult to understand. For more than year he doesn’t let into apartments its rightful owners – Vanya Chaplygin and his guardians. And neither police nor social services can get into there – nobody!
- He seemingly believes that the apartment belongs to him. He settled down very coneveniently: lives for free, almost in the center of Moscow. Last summer we wanted to get in with Vanya and talk to him – he even didn’t let us to cross the doorstep! - Irina Bauman is outraged.
From the Tverskoy district court it was confirmed that the judicial process is underway.
- The claim from Alexey Panikorovskiy was submitted in December of last year. He demands from the child to pay him 561,849 rubles [ed: more than 19 thousand USD]. The proceedings have begun already, – explained the court spokeswoman Polina Kleimenova. She also added that such processes are not something extraordinary.
- It is not the first case of this kind we are looking into. Quite often after the death of parents lenders try to get money from children. And, as a rule, courts take the side of plaintiffs. – said Polina Kleimenova.
In any case, Vanya’s family doesn’t have 560 000 rubles at their disposal. In order to pay that amount, they will probably sell the apartments.
Comments of Russian netizens
Guest: And, as a rule, courts take the side of plaintiffs. – said Polina Kleimenova. ===============
Because of such court decisions people start riots which later are called revolutions :-( ((
But only for the likes of lawyer Alexey Panikorovskiy and impotent leaders busy with iPhones – it becomes unpleasant surprise :-(
Irina Y.: Interesting – how is it that someone can’t be evicted from another person’s apartments. And how does the alleged debt give a person right to own other people’s property?
Marina: What debt? The deferred rent is already bigger than that mythical debt. It’s he who owes them now.
Moskvichka: for a year lived without paying. He said that made a forward payment in advance, - …..
First, they should make a counter-claim and demand payment for one year of living in two-room (that approximately would be those 560 thousands which he wants from them, and likely he will even owe them).
Second, there should be examination of signatures if the mother borrowed money.
Third, it is illegal seizure of space. He doesn’t have any documents confirming his claims for this apartment. The boy, on the other hand, should have! Call the police and housing department staff. Then – when he is not at home, break the locks in the presence of police. He yet will owe for unauthorized seizure of someone else’s property! Fucking cheater!
Prohozhiy: Scary to live in this country.
Gram Evans: Let them write to President. They deal strictly with such cases. Especially when it’s about orphan. Write, Irina Bauman!
Nikiphor: Lawyers in Russia run the show. If it’s child – especially orphan, why not to steal his apartment? And he wil!! “Komsomolskaya Pravda!! [ed: newspaper] – make your own [journalistic] investigation! Don’t let him offend the child!
ira: My relatives were in such situation. One man rented their apartment for several years. Then they asked him to move out. But he refused and presented a voucher for 20,000 dollars supposedly signed by the owners (also a signed typescript, stating that until the debt is returned the tenant can live there for FREE)). The trial lasted eighteen months, and until the decision of court, it was impossible to evict him. Later he moved out but for the fake documents (which he had a bunch) he wasn’t punished. Also lawyer, by the way. Seems like a scheme.
li: That’s really Russia - country of fools. How can a minor be responsible for the debts of his parents? And why does the court find it acceptable that the child should pay for the deceased parents? Maybe in Russia children can also be sent for forced labor to work for the debts of living parents?
Boris: Break in and smash his muzzle. Would do it myself. Pity I don’t know the address.
gostya: Is there a picture? I think I know him.
Marina: Stop. Anyone who inherits the rights, inherits the debts as well. That’s why nobody evicts the child from the flat. It’s about the guardians. The question is – how they deal with it. I am afraid she will give the apartment. And the boy will stay without it.
toMarina (replying toMarina): Guardians do not inherit the debts. As well as children. Moreover, underage. This case is obvious, and anyway he must move out.
Zhenschina: Where is Astakhov?????
[Note: Pavel Astakhov – notable Russian lawyer and politician. In 2009 he was appointed as Children's Rights Commissioner for the President.]
Sergey: Attention, people! Be careful when you rent to lawyers, there are many thieves among them who will leave you without money and place to live.
Chelovek: This lawyer must be caught and turned into a lawyeress.
pensioner: It is strange that most commenters believe the story of relatives and ignore what is written at the end of this publication:
/ From the Tverskoy district court it was confirmed that the judicial process is underway/.
I have no doubt that the plaintiff, 45-year-old lawyer, gave only the fire-proof documents (including the voucher, duly signed by a notary). At this point, after reviewing these documents, the court spokesman Polina Kleimenova leans to the following:
/ In order to pay that amount, they will probably sell the apartments/.
In my opinion, there is another option: rent the apartment for prepaid sum. It won’t be a problem to find people who want to rent in that area. And then it will stay for 9 years old Vanya; and the relatives won’t be able to squander the lion’s share of the money remaining after payment of debt.
Natalia: I’d like to know the circumstances of the child mother’s death.
***
Update from KP (April 5, 2012)
Journalists of “KP” visited the apartments. Surprise! Alexey Panikorovskiy has moved out couple of weeks ago.
- We saw how he had gathered all things and left with his family, – says the neighbor of Panikorovskiy. - In general, he was a nice and pleasant man, quiet, did not make any problems.
Where to Panikorovskiy moved is unknown. Journalists did not succeed to contact him by cell phone - he just did not answer.
But even if the apartment is free now – what about the claim for 562,000 rubles? Panikorovskiy has foreseen everything. If Ivan can’t pay, he is willing to buy the apartment… for a little bit more than 40 thousand dollars - about 1.2 million rubles. But according to evaluations, its present value is 15 million!
- The rental contract stipulates that in case of sale of the apartment he has the right to be the first buyer. That is, we must first offer him, and only then search for other candidates. But this amount is just ridiculous! – says Irina Bauman.
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The “document” with signature could be done and printed by anyone in 10 min. I can’t believe the court can take such document as base for claim. Only for bribe.
If the things are indeed as they are described by Vanya’s guardians – then, indeed, it’s hard to understand why there is any court “process” at all.
Wait a minute.
Vanya’s parents “owe” lawyer money, THE LAWYER lives in their apartment for free and he also thinks that he can occupy or own it before the 9 years old boy pays back the debt? What’s this? Is he really a lawyer?
Yeah… Isn’t it funny?
Come on. Eleven years is not that far back to look. If the boy’s mother really borrowed such a relatively large sum of money, where is it? Is it possible she had all that money, spent it untraceably without ever putting it in a bank or making a purchase through a store or dealership of any large, expensive item, and nobody in her family knew a thing about it?
If she owed him money, that presumes she received it from him. Where did he get it? Does he have that kind of money just lying around, unaccounted for? Where’s the record that shows he took it out of the bank, borrowed it from relatives, whatever? And if borrowed from relatives, where did they get it? There must be records – it staggers the imagination that this lawyer simply saved it up all his life in tiny increments, never depositing it in any financial institution, just so he could lend it to his landlord on the strength of nothing more than a one-page computer generated document.
Money doesn’t just appear and disappear, unless you have your own printing press. It came from somewhere (if it ever existed at all) and went somewhere. A little bit of serious investigation would make this whole house of cards collapse. If the lawyer made it up, backed by false documents, it’s fraud at the least, and he should be looking at jail time. People are encouraged to try such schemes because they work. Seeing some of the scammers in jail would be a pretty good deterrent.
I agree with you. If the court and judge are not corrupt, the boy’s family has good chances to win this case.
Today I saw interesting update of this story and added it to the end of the post…
Reference the update, I hope we can all agree this is not the behavior of somebody who has a solid legal case and nothing to fear. This is the behavior of somebody uncomfortable with the publicity generated by a scam in which the other side was supposed to just quietly fold up.
What would be a real game-changer for the boy’s case would be some prominent lawyer offering to defend his interests, as the respondent, pro bono. The lawyer who is the plaintiff would then be faced with the choice of spending out of his own pocket to defend an action which, at the very least, has the potential to see him disbarred – or defending himself, which would make it very difficult to disassociate himself from the scheme if his story starts to fall apart. And it will; he’s just getting out of town until the heat dies down. But a legal case that will not tolerate the public eye is usually either a loser or a fake. I think this one is the latter. If he has to start inventing a whole chain of legitimacy for this money that has simply disappeared, he’ll make a big mistake somewhere.