Bankruptcy Law

In line with the liquidation logic of the procedure, Article L. 643-1(1) of the Commercial Code stipulates that the court ruling opening or declaring a court-supervised liquidation renders due and payable all unpaid claims secured by the assets seized under the procedure. Where the court authorizes the continuation of the business on the grounds that it is possible to sell all or part of it, unpaid claims become due and payable only on the date of the court ruling on the sale or, failing that, on the date on which the business ceases to operate.

In the absence of a clause to the contrary, the forfeiture of the agreed term following the pronouncement of a court-supervised liquidation has effect only in respect of the debtor. It cannot be extended to the guarantor , who is liable only for claims falling due on the date of the court ruling . It is only in the presence of a clause in the surety agreement requiring the guarantor to guarantee the creditor, including for sums that have become due in advance, that the forfeiture of the agreed term can be extended to the latter .

Nor, in principle, does the forfeiture of the term resulting from the court-supervised liquidation of the principal debtor affect the situation of his joint and several co-debtors sued for payment .

The case of acceleration must be distinguished from the immediate payability of the balance of an everyday account closed as a result of a court-supervised liquidation, for which the guarantor may be required to pay in the event of definitive admission of the bank's claims as liabilities .

Cass. com., 8 March 1994, LawLex202100001537JBJ (LJ); 13 May 2003, LawLex202100001916JBJ (LJ); 7 December 1999, LawLex202100001914JBJ (LJ).

Cass. com., 4 November 2014, LawLex202300006270JBJ (LJ).

Cass. com., 30 October 1984, LawLex202100001541JBJ (LJ); CA Orléans, 20 January 2022, LawLex202300005233JBJ (LJ); Cass. com., 25 January 2023, LawLex202300005242JBJ (LJ).

Cass. com., 15 June 2011, LawLex202100001913JBJ (LJ).

Cass. com., 13 December 2016, LawLex202100001538JBJ (LJ).

931. Forfeiture of term