A contractor won a lawsuit against the Kherson Regional State Administration for 5 million

PJSC "Ukratomeenergobud" won a lawsuit against the Infrastructure Department of the Kherson Regional State Administration. The department was ordered to pay the company nearly five million hryvnias in debt and penalties for the construction of an overpass in Kherson.

This is stated in the ruling of the Southwestern Commercial Court of Appeals.

The Infrastructure Department of the Kherson Regional State Administration must pay the contractor 3,555,000 hryvnias in principal debt and 1,114,000 hryvnias in inflation-related losses due to late payment. The department must also reimburse the company 80,000 hryvnias for legal fees, 76,000 hryvnias for a forensic examination, and over 56,000 hryvnias in court fees. 

The parties signed the contract for the construction of the facility on March 1, 2021. The contractor completed construction work totaling over 450 million hryvnias, as confirmed by 85 acceptance certificates. The department paid for the first 83 acceptance certificates, totaling over 447 million hryvnias, but owes over 3.55 million hryvnias for the remaining certificates.

During the court hearings, representatives of the regional administration attempted to dispute that the work had actually been performed, citing a lack of budget funding, martial law, and the fact that they had unilaterally terminated the contract. However, a forensic examination confirmed that the construction work had been carried out, and the unilateral termination of the agreement had previously been ruled invalid.

The judges emphasized that martial law or a lack of funds in the budget do not exempt the client from the obligation to pay for work that has already been completed and accepted.

The legal battle over the construction of the Kherson overpass has been ongoing since 2023, when “Ukratomenergobud” filed a lawsuit to collect the debt. At the same time, in separate proceedings, the contractor challenged the department’s actions regarding the unilateral termination of the construction contract.

On July 30, 2026, the Commercial Court of Odesa Oblast fully granted the builders’ claim. Both parties filed appeals: officials sought to overturn the order to pay the debt, while the company requested that the compensation for attorneys’ fees be increased from 30 to nearly 368 thousand hryvnias. Ultimately, the appellate court upheld the original ruling and increased the payment for legal assistance to 80,000 hryvnias.

Юлія Калабайда