163: Dealing with this kind of lawyer too much can easily shorten your life

As the plaintiff in an administrative lawsuit, Zhou Yun’s task was to refute all the points raised by the opposing party.

And the facts proved that he did a very good job.

Of the two points raised by the defendant, one had no legal basis whatsoever; it was purely a matter of customary practice, which is why it was stated directly.

Otherwise, one couldn't possibly say that the three people on the other side didn't understand the law; such words should not be spoken.

The other point was relatively acceptable, but it also highlighted another issue: the opposing party had not thoroughly grasped the provisions regarding “commercial secrets” in the Administrative Procedure Law.

Simply having a commercial secret was not enough and did not explain the problem; it only showed that these people were accustomed to using such methods to deal with others, and thus had not fully mastered administrative litigation.

Moreover, Zhou Yun had dug a trap for the other party here, though he was unsure if they would fall into it.

Now, the three people on the other side could no longer hold on.

“As staff members, daring to appear in Court without even having mastered the basic principles of the Administrative Procedure Law….”

Seeing that a certain person was speaking more and more out of line, the Presiding Judge tapped the gavel again: “Ahem, counsel for the plaintiff, do you have anything else to add?”

Had Zhou Lawyer eaten gunpowder? The case could have been won long ago, but his stance seemed to be directly aimed at the three people opposite him.

There was no need, truly no need. There was no animosity between them, so why speak like that?

Zhou Yun could only slam on the brakes upon hearing this, his face showing a hint of reluctance as he said, “I have nothing more to add.”

On the other side, Duan Ruogu, who was in charge of administrative reconsideration at the Yinshan District Justice Bureau, wiped his sweat. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to his university classroom, with the administrative law professor spitting and scolding.

It seemed he had indeed grown complacent, failing to consider even this aspect. In a sense, what the other party said was correct.

The Presiding Judge then said, “Defendant, what about your side?”

Duan Ruogu quickly replied, “No, we have nothing more to say.”

The Presiding Judge then struck the gavel: “Alright, this Court is now adjourned.”

With the Court adjourned, Zhou Yun calmly packed his things and was about to leave when he noticed a staff member from the defendant’s side walking over.

“Hello, may I help you?” Zhou Yun asked with a reserved expression.

The staff member who walked over was none other than Duan Ruogu, who now said expressionlessly, “Lawyer Zhou, your level in administrative litigation is truly high. Listening to your words is better than ten years of study.”

Zhou Yun smiled and said, “Oh, it’s nothing, just top-tier in the legal profession, passable.”

This single sentence instantly stumped Duan Ruogu; he didn't know if the other party was being humble, and his dark face turned pale.

So he could only say a few casual words and then walked back.

Zhou Yun was indifferent; he packed his things and left directly. Why be humble? What I said was just the truth.

Meanwhile, on the other side, at the defendant’s table, the three people were discussing.

“Director Xie, you’ve probably seen it too, we’re likely going to lose this lawsuit,” Duan Ruogu said.

Director Xie, who came from the Education Department to appear in Court, sighed upon hearing this: “I see it, but it’s no use. We’re simply not on the same level. That Zhou Yun is truly extraordinary.”

It could be said that the two sides were not in the same league.

Duan Ruogu also said helplessly, “Of course, his level is high.”

Director Xie was surprised to hear this: “Do you have any good ideas?”

Duan Ruogu’s colleague next to him was also a bit surprised. He usually kept a low profile at work; could this Duan Ruogu also be a master?

He had been with him for so long and hadn't noticed?

Duan Ruogu shook his head: “What ideas could I have? My point is, let’s find a lawyer who specializes in this area for a consultation. Otherwise, there’s no way to handle it.”

They couldn't lose the case now, because once they lost, the other party could directly sue with the publicly available information.

At that point, with sufficient evidence, the Court would have no reason to rule against them.

The other two nodded. For now, this was the only way, especially for Director Xie’s side. If this wasn't handled well, their leader might become famous.

After all, everyone knew that Zhou Yun habitually posted cases online after finishing them.

Although arrears in construction payments happened everywhere, the effect of Zhou Yun’s posts was truly different.

The three left the Court and returned to their unit. Director Xie reported the situation to his leader, who also kept sighing upon hearing it.

Now they could only find a high-level lawyer; otherwise, the second instance would definitely be hopeless.

Director Xie made many inquiries and, surprisingly, found a lawyer specializing in administrative litigation. She was a prominent lawyer from the Magic City named Yue Xialan.

Inside the Bureau of Justice office, Duan Ruogu and his two colleagues, who were in charge of administrative reconsideration, sat together again. Today, they were going to consult with Lawyer Yue from the Magic City via an internet conference.

As the video connected, Director Xie first smiled and greeted, “Hello, Lawyer Yue, I am Xie Jianshe. We spoke on the phone before, and I’ve sent you the relevant documents.”

At the same time, in the office of Tianyi Law Firm in the Magic City, Yue Xialan, a 43-year-old senior partner full of vigor, wearing a suit, smiled and said, “Hello, Director Xie.”

“I’ve basically understood the situation. I’ve also heard a thing or two about Lawyer Zhou’s conduct, but I really didn’t expect him to be so… crazy in Court.”

The two sides chatted casually for a few moments, and then Yue Xialan said, “From what you’ve told me, you definitely lost the first instance. The evidence was completely useless and you were crushed by the other party.”

“So, you must seize the second instance and absolutely cannot lose.”

“Lawyer Zhou’s level is very high, I admit that, but he shouldn’t have said all those things in Court. Therefore, if we want to win, we just need to do the opposite!”

Upon hearing this, Director Xie and his two colleagues in front of the video immediately showed joyful expressions.

“Lawyer Yue, how do you propose we do the opposite?”

In the video, Yue Xialan said confidently, “What was Zhou Yun’s reason for refuting your commercial secret in the first instance? He said that merely being a commercial secret is not enough; it must also be proven that disclosing this information would cause harm to the rights and interests of a third party!”

“So, can we say this: as long as we can prove that disclosing this information would cause harm to the rights and interests of a third party, then can we win the case?”

Director Xie and his two colleagues were stunned upon hearing this. It seemed that it really was the case.

But soon, Duan Ruogu spoke: “Lawyer Yue, this is difficult to do. You see, Zhou Yun said before that the third party in this case is Kangde Construction Company, and this company was deregistered almost ten years ago.”

“Under such circumstances, how can we prove that disclosing the information would cause harm to the rights and interests of a third party?”

Yue Xialan smiled and said, “Yes, the company was deregistered almost ten years ago, but the former owner of the company is still alive, right?”

“Although the company is deregistered, the creditor’s rights, meaning that construction payment, are still outstanding. Your Education Department hasn’t paid it yet, right?”

Director Xie subconsciously nodded.

Yue Xialan then said, “Alright, since you haven’t paid, then theoretically this money should belong to Kangde Company, because it was the contractor on the contract, wasn’t it?”

“According to the relevant provisions of our country’s Company Law, after a limited liability company is deregistered, the remaining assets are to be distributed by the shareholders according to their capital contribution ratio.”

“What are creditor’s rights? They are also assets, so logically they should belong to the company’s shareholders!”

“In other words, this construction payment theoretically belongs to the shareholders of Kangde Company.”

“Zhou Yun likes to use the ‘Regulations on Government Information Disclosure,’ doesn’t he? Fine, Article 32 of these regulations states that if the disclosure of government information applied for would harm the rights and interests of a third party, the administrative authority should solicit the opinion of the third party in writing.”

“If the third party disagrees with the disclosure and has reasonable grounds, the administrative authority shall not disclose it!”

“Alright then, as long as you find that owner, you issue a request for opinion, and then have him issue a statement of disagreement with the disclosure, with the reason being that the company’s creditor’s rights now belong to him, and disclosure would harm his interests.”

“Isn’t that settled?”

Director Xie and his two colleagues were a bit numb from listening. No, could it be played this way?

This was a solution from the perspective of company law. Although the legal entity of the company had ceased to exist, the money owed to the company before still existed, and this money belonged to the company's shareholders.

Alright then, this third party changed from a company to a natural person, so as long as this person issues a statement of opinion, the procedure would be fine.

After understanding, Director Xie asked doubtfully, “Lawyer Yue, that owner probably won’t agree, right? Wouldn’t the other party be able to sue that owner then?”

Yue Xialan laughed and said, “Are you saying the other party would sue that shareholder for money, right? On what grounds would he sue? The company owes the money, it’s a limited liability company, why should the shareholder bear it?”

Yue Xialan briefly explained that on the surface it seemed unreasonable, but in fact, it was a tactic of a legal trickster.

In administrative information disclosure, as long as the relevant third party disagrees and has a reasonable reason—note, a reasonable reason is enough—then the administrative authority does not need to disclose it.

To put it bluntly, it's a matter of weighting. As long as it's a relevant third party, and as long as there's a reasonable reason to indicate that it might affect their rights and interests, it doesn't need to be disclosed—note, it's “might”!

And if one really wanted to be serious about how to handle and distribute debts and creditor’s rights after a company’s deregistration, then they would need to find the previous liquidation report and see if there were any issues with the company’s deregistration and liquidation process.

And how long a deregistration and liquidation report is generally kept is not clearly stipulated in the Company Law. According to the “Measures for the Management of Accounting Archives,” it is normally ten years.

“You said this company was deregistered almost ten years ago. I calculated it earlier, and it’s actually not ten years, it’s already over ten years.”

“Not to mention the statute of limitations, they can’t even find the evidence. Without a liquidation report, what can they sue with?”

“Then you give this owner a small project or something, and he will definitely be willing to help. This isn’t false testimony, and theoretically, that creditor’s right might indeed belong to him.”

At this moment, Director Xie had only one thought: dealing with these lawyers for too long would shorten one’s lifespan…