Bentley remains in the client’s ownership: LESHCHENKO & PARTNERS successfully defends the decision on appeal

The team of LESHCHENKO & PARTNERS successfully represented a client in a dispute concerning the recovery of a Bentley vehicle. The court of first instance dismissed the claim in full, and on 3 March 2026 the Kropyvnytskyi Court of Appeal upheld that decision, rejecting the claimant’s appeal.

Background of the Case

The claimant filed a lawsuit seeking to recover a Bentley vehicle from our client’s possession. The claim was based on the fact that the claimant had previously transferred the vehicle to an acquaintance, after which the car was resold several times and passed through several owners.

Eventually, the vehicle was purchased by our client, who acquired ownership in accordance with the law.

Despite this, the claimant argued that the final owner should bear responsibility for the improper performance of arrangements between previous parties and sought to recover the vehicle from our client.

Defence Strategy

The LESHCHENKO & PARTNERS team demonstrated that the claimant’s arguments were inconsistent with both civil law principles and the current case law of the Supreme Court.

In particular, the lawyers proved that:

• the vehicle left the claimant’s possession voluntarily;
• the client acquired the vehicle lawfully;
• the client is a bona fide purchaser;
• the claimant failed to prove any unlawful conduct on the part of our client.

In its reasoning, the defence relied on the legal position of the Supreme Court set out in the decision of the Joint Chamber of the Civil Cassation Court dated 11 December 2023 in case No. 752/5281/20. In that decision, the Court stated that transferring a vehicle to another person for use does not constitute the owner losing possession against their will.

Accordingly, the risk of choosing an unreliable counterparty rests with the owner who voluntarily transfers property to another person.

Court Decisions

The court of first instance agreed with the arguments presented by LESHCHENKO & PARTNERS and dismissed the claim for recovery of the vehicle.

The claimant subsequently filed an appeal. However, the Kropyvnytskyi Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and upheld the first-instance decision.

As a result, the client’s ownership of the Bentley vehicle has been confirmed by courts of two instances.

The case was handled by:

• Oleksandr Leshchenko, Managing Partner
• Serhii Zaianchukovskyi, Attorney, Counsel for Intellectual Property
• Yuliia Soldatenko, Attorney’s Assistant