The Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court suspended the enforcement of arrear payments in a case involving a people's hospital and a pharmaceutical company in Hunan Province in an act showcasing the court’s determination to provide judicial support to those fighting the novel COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
During the case proceedings, a mediation agreement was reached urging the hospital and the pharmaceutical company to pay money used to purchase medicine totaling 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million) in arrear to an international commercial factoring company.
However, during the ongoing virus-fighting period, the court is required by the Supreme People’s Court and the superior court to enforce such agreements with care. Agreements involving front-line hospitals and pharmaceutical enterprises should be imposed prudently. In line with this, the case handler contacted the litigants to acquire more information on the case.
According to the vice president of the hospital, the sudden coronavirus outbreak has forced the hospital to invest a lot of manpower, medical supplies and finances into facing COVID-19, which has directly led to the suspension of the arrear payments.
As the only designated hospital fighting the disease in the local area, the hospital is handling three confirmed cases, 60 suspected cases, and over 900 fever patients.
As the other party subject to the enforcement, the pharmaceutical company has also invested a large amount of money in the procurement of medical equipment and supplies, leaving scarce working capital.
Upon receiving the wish of reaching an agreement with the factoring company to suspend payment installments from the two parties above, the court organized an online mediation for the litigants, and an agreement to delay the payment of the arrears was reached.
The court chose to suspend its enforcement measures against the hospital and the pharmaceutical company and will not freeze their bank accounts or seal their property, in an effort to support them in the fight against the coronavirus.
