Decision of the Athens District Court regarding the suspension of payment order – Suspension a lease contract due to Covid-19

Decision No. 1062/2023 of the Athens District Court (Proceedings of Interim Measures) ordered in favor of our client – a taxi vehicle rental company, the suspension of the execution of the payment order of the Athens District Court, by which our client was instructed to pay the amount of 10,000.00 euros for rent arrears (19 months) to the owner of the taxi license, until the issuance of a final decision on our motion.

More specifically, it was argued, on the one hand, that the second ground of our motion for the non-existence of the claim for which the payment order was issued was likely to prevail because during the disputed period of 19 months for which the lessor was awarded the rent claim, the suspension of the lease agreement for the taxi license had been verbally agreed upon by the parties. On the other hand, there was the risk of causing irreparable damage to our client. More specifically, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus pandemic and its economic impact, the taxi vehicle covered by the leased taxi license was immobilized, and it was agreed between the parties that no rent would be owed for the use of the license for as long as it remained immobilized. The Court, based on its assessment of the evidence, suggested that a verbal agreement to suspend the contract had been reached, dismissing the lessor’s claims of lack of agreement to suspend as unsubstantiated.