MOSCOW, June 21 (RAPSI) - The Moscow Commercial Curt on Friday granted the lawsuit filed by Russian Railways for collecting 7.03 billion rubles ($215 million) from the Finance Ministry for the transportation of benefit recipients in 2009, RAPSI reports from the court.
The court dismissed the company's claims to the co-defendants in the case - the Healthcare Ministry and the Labor and Social Protection Ministry.
According to the Prime business news agency, Russian Railways demanded compensation for its losses from the transportation of benefit recipients in 2009.
The news agency's source said that under an agreement on the transportation of benefit recipients in 2009 signed with the Healthcare Ministry in late 2008, Russian Railways was to receive compensation for profit shortfall resulting from this agreement.
The rail monopoly said the transportation of benefit recipients in 2009 cost the company 11 billion rubles (over $365 million), but only 4 billion rubles (around $133 million) were issued in compensation from the federal budget.
Russian Railways, which may not refuse to transport benefit recipients, has notified the government and the ministry that the allocations would not cover its expenses.
A Finance Ministry spokesperson argued that the plaintiff had not provided substantiation for the sum claimed and also did not comply with the procedure for requesting compensation. Russian Railways sent its compensation requests not to the Healthcare Ministry but to the Finance Ministry in 2011. The Finance Ministry is not a signatory of the agreement, and its guilt has not been proved.
A Labor Ministry spokesperson said the plaintiff filed its suit after the statute of limitations expired.
A railway monopoly spokesperson said during the prehearing that an out-of-court settlement was a possibility.
However, the sides said on Friday that they failed to settle their dispute out of court.
