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Garuda Indonesia wins Paris lawsuit against lessors
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G
aruda Indonesia subsidiary Garuda Indonesia Holiday France (GIHF) has won a lawsuit against two lessors, Greylag 1410 and Greylag 1446, in Paris.
The Paris Civil Court ruled to release GIHF’s bank, whose account had been temporarily foreclosed in 2022 under provisional attachment proceedings, a legal remedy that allows the plaintiff to obtain a preliminary order to seize or freeze the defendant’s assets.
“It is a shame that these two lessors are suing us,” said Garuda CEO Irfan Setiaputra in a press statement released on Thursday, adding that what Greylag was attempting was “against the law.”
On top of the full release of the bank account, the court also ordered Greylag to pay 230,000 euros (US$244,703) for cost and damages caused by the foreclosure.
According to the press statement, the court did not find a strong legal basis for the seizure request.
“We have to stress that Garuda Indonesia’s restructuring plan was taken through long discussions with all creditors in conformity with the law,” said Irfan.
“With that in mind, I hope everyone is handling it wisely, that is, in conformity with the law,” he added.
Read also: Indonesian air traffic set to recover faster than expected
He went on to say that this judicial release could be viewed as Garuda’s commitment to the legal conformity of its restructuring plan, including taking legal action against the two lessors, which the airline registered in the Central Jakarta District court in late 2022.
Prior to this judicial liquidation lawsuit against GIHF, Garuda Indonesia won an appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, while a winding-up lawsuit filed by Greylag in Australia was denied by local authority.
These rulings, Garuda claimed, suggested that the restructuring proposal was already in conformity with the law and might dictate other ongoing lawsuits in other countries.
“[These wins] make us optimistic about [making the most of] Garuda Indonesia’s transformation to become an increasingly agile and adaptive company,” said Irfan.
The trouble-ridden flag carrier has been through a massive debt restructuring that allowed it to turn to profitability last year. Its stock resumed trading on the Indonesian Stock Exchange in early January, after having been suspended for the last six months of 2022.
Read also: Analysis: Garuda completes restructuring, back to black, resumes stock trading
“We need to stress that Garuda Indonesia will take decisive measures against [external] efforts that may harm all stakeholders within Garuda Indonesia’s business ecosystem,” declared Irfan.
