Since 2021, we have been representing Paikre OÜ, a waste management company, as the injured party in a complex criminal proceeding. The case twice went through all three levels of the Estonian court system, and on both occasions, the Supreme Court ruled in our client’s favour.
This was a landmark case that changed Estonian court practice. In an additional ruling on 21 November 2025, the Supreme Court set set case law on this subject for the first time, finding, based on our cassation appeal, that default interest can be charged on claims for procedural costs. The case was significant not only for our client, given its financial impact, but also for the broader legal community, as it established an important precedent.
About the case
The proceedings concerned embezzlement, document forgery, and other abuses committed by a former member of the company’s management board and an employee. Their actions caused significant financial damage to our client.
The case involved complex factual circumstances that were unprecedented in Estonian case law. It also involved an in-depth analysis of market price formation in the waste management sector.
As a result of these harmful actions, we successfully filed a civil claim as part of the criminal proceedings, seeking compensation of nearly EUR 250,000.
The significant financial loss arose from waste management contracts concluded with related parties, which included disposal fees that were manipulated and substantially below the market rate. Further harm resulted from various other services and agreements provided to third parties at Paikre OÜ’s expense.
Twice through the Estonian court system
Although the first-instance court convicted the defendants and granted the victim’s claim, we initially filed a partial appeal because of errors in the damage calculations. The Court of Appeal then partially acquitted the defendants and cut the awarded damages to our client by nearly half, prompting us to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court upheld our cassation appeal and overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision, providing for the first time guidance in case law on allocating the burden of proof for calculations of lost income. Based on this, the Court of Appeal issued a new decision on 22 May 2025, fully satisfying the client’s claim for lost income. The decision took effect in October 2025, as the Supreme Court did not accept the opposing party’s cassation appeal.
At the same time, the cassation appeal we filed, regarding the partial awarding of procedural costs to our client, was successfully heard by the Supreme Court.
Our client team
Our team was led by partner Norman Aas, and was supported throughout the various proceedings by partner Carri Ginter; senior associates Piret Schasmin, Marcus Niin and Albert Linntam; and assistant lawyer Ere Mai Kool.
