Whether an interested party may file a special complaint with the Supreme Court with the Supreme Court against the decision on the application for submission of documents (negative)

Articles 344, 348, 380, and 449 of the Civil Procedure Act

Committee for the Establishment of Housing Redevelopment and Improvement Project Cooperatives (Attorney Choi Jong-chul, Counsel for the plaintiff-appellant)

Seoul Northern District Court Order 2011Kao1729 dated December 30, 2011

The case shall be transferred to the Panel Division of the Seoul Northern District Court.

1. Article 380 of the Civil Procedure Act provides that “No objection may be raised against the ruling for preservation of evidence”, and Article 348 of the same Act provides that “an immediate appeal may be filed against the ruling for submission of documents.” This is interpreted to mean that, although no objection is possible against the ruling itself allowing preservation of evidence, where the court orders submission of documents as a ruling for the examination of evidence, the interested parties who are dissatisfied with such order may file an immediate appeal. If an immediate appeal is permitted, an immediate appeal may not be filed with the Supreme Court pursuant to Article 449 of the Civil Procedure Act.

2. The record reveals that the non-applicant 1 and 11 filed an appeal against the special appellant on January 12, 201 to the effect that in order to preserve evidence before filing an action to nullify the resolution of the residents' general meeting, the application for the order to submit the original copy of the written request for holding the residents' general meeting held by the special appellant was defective, the Seoul Northern District Court rendered a decision allowing the preservation of the order to submit documents on December 30, 201, and accordingly, ordered the special appellant to submit specified documents pursuant to Article 344 of the Civil Procedure Act. Accordingly, the special appellant filed an appeal against the decision ordering the submission of the above documents on the grounds that he/she did not possess the original documents with the Seoul Northern Northern District Court on January 12, 2012. The Seoul Northern District Court considered this as a special claim and sent the records to the Supreme Court.

In light of the above legal principles, the appeal of this case filed by a special appellant is not a special appeal but an immediate appeal filed pursuant to Article 348 of the Civil Procedure Act, and the competent court is the Seoul Northern District Court Panel Division.

3. Therefore, this case shall be transferred to the competent court. It is so decided as per Disposition by the assent of all participating Justices.

Justices Yang Chang-soo (Presiding Justice)