According to the Civil Code – Article 527 – if, as a result of a legal act performed by the debtor to the detriment of creditors, a third party has obtained a pecuniary benefit, each creditor may demand that this act be declared ineffective in relation to them, provided that the debtor acted with the awareness of harming the creditors, and the third party knew or, exercising due diligence, could have known about it.
As follows from the above, the Paulian action protects the creditor from being harmed as a result of a legal act performed by the debtor, which made the debtor insolvent or increased their insolvency compared to the state before the act was performed (see e.g. judgment of the Court of Appeal in Białystok of 18.11.2015, I ACa 604/15, Legalis; judgment of the Court of Appeal in Katowice of 11.3.2015, I ACa 1007/14, Legalis).
However, in order to use a Paulian action, the following conditions must be met:
- the debtor must have performed a valid legal act
- the creditor must have been harmed
- a third party must have obtained a pecuniary benefit
- the debtor must have been aware of harming the creditor at the time of the act
- the third party must have been aware of the harm to the creditor or could have become aware of it through due diligence
- the creditor must demand that the act be declared ineffective against them
In practice, pursuing claims through a Paulian action is done by filing a lawsuit with the court. Therefore, if in your case the debtor has disposed of assets, causing you harm, the Law Office of Attorney Łukasz Buczko will assist in conducting such proceedings before the court.