On Tuesday afternoon, a boss in the steel trading business sat in the reception room of Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm and slapped a stack of account statements on the coffee table. He had run his company in Luohu, Shenzhen for twelve years, and a construction company in Longhua owed him 8.6 million yuan in unpaid货款, which they had been delaying for 14 months on the pretext of "cash flow difficulties." He asked Director Lawyer Shen Jinlong: "If I sue, how long will it take to get the money? What are my chances of winning?"

Lawyer Shen opened the statement of account and noticed that the other party had signed a repayment commitment letter in March 2023, bearing the signature of the legal representative and the company seal. He put down the document and said, "This commitment letter is crucial. It interrupts the statute of limitations and also changes the case from a 'payment dispute' into a contract breach case with clear debt confirmation. We just closed a contract dispute with a subject matter of 8.6 million yuan, from filing to enforcement and recovery, in four months."

Conflict Escalation: From "Wait a Little Longer" to "Unreachable"

That boss’s predicament is a dilemma shared by many small and medium-sized enterprise owners in Shenzhen. At first, the other party said, “We’ll pay 500,000 next month,” but three months later only transferred 180,000. After that, they stopped answering calls and didn’t reply to WeChat messages. He went to their company twice, and the receptionist said the person in charge was “on a business trip,” but the office lights were clearly on. In September 2023, the other party even changed their registered address to another office building in Nanshan District, leaving him completely at a loss.

This kind of "debt-dodging" maneuver is not uncommon in commercial disputes. Many parties agonize over questions like "Will suing damage our relationship?" or "What if the other party goes bankrupt?" — and the longer they delay, the more passive their position becomes. The other party transfers assets, dissolves the company, or changes the legal representative, rendering the judgment a mere scrap of paper.

Legal Analysis: Your Chances of Winning Depend on Three Facts

Addressing this boss, Lawyer Shen analyzed three core points of the case. First, both parties signed a procurement contract, the goods receipt documents are complete, and the statement of account was confirmed by the other party's finance department—this constitutes a complete chain of evidence. Second, the repayment commitment letter from March 2023 means the other party acknowledged the debt,

**Q: How long do civil and commercial cases generally take to be heard in Shenzhen? Will they drag on for two or three years?**

**Answer:** According to Article 152 of the Civil Procedure Law, cases subject to ordinary procedure in first instance should be concluded within six months from the date of filing, and may be extended by six months upon approval. For contract disputes with clear facts and sufficient evidence, courts in Shenzhen typically complete trial within 3-6 months. In the 8.6 million yuan case we handled, we filed the lawsuit during the special window period of Shenzhen courts' "Business Environment Optimization" initiative in 2023, obtained a first-instance judgment in 3 months, completed execution filing and froze the opposing party's bank accounts through asset inquiry in 1 month, with the entire process taking 4 months.

Article 509 of the Civil Code stipulates that the parties shall fully perform their obligations in accordance with the agreement. The other party owes 8.6 million yuan in goods payment and still fails to perform after written demand for payment, which constitutes a fundamental breach of contract. Attorney Shen judges that as long as the other party does not file a counterclaim or raise quality objections in the lawsuit, the probability of winning this case is over 90%.

Agency Strategy: Pave the Way Before Filing

After the Zhiming Law Firm team took over the case, the first thing they did was not to draft the complaint, but to apply for property preservation. The lawyer obtained the other party's account transaction records from six banks in Shenzhen through a lawyer's investigation order, and discovered a deposit of 4.37 million yuan at a certain Futian sub-branch. They immediately filed a preservation application with the Futian District People's Court, freezing these funds—this step shifted the case from "difficult enforcement" to "following the trail by the map."

Meanwhile, the team broke down the litigation materials into three parts: principal, overdue interest (calculated at 1.5 times the LPR), and attorney fees plus preservation costs. Every figure corresponded to contract clauses or judicial interpretations, leaving the other party no room to bargain.

Outcome Reversal: From "Can't Find Anyone" to "Proactive Reconciliation"

On the 12th day of the asset freeze, the opposing party's legal team proactively called to request a settlement. Attorney Shen's response was: "A settlement is possible, but payment of 5 million must be made within 7 days after signing the agreement, with the remaining amount settled within 30 days, and the shareholders must provide joint and several liability guarantees." The other party initially only agreed to installment payments, whereupon the Zhiming team immediately said, "Then we'll wait for the judgment," and the next day submitted the complete list of evidence required for the court hearing to the court.

Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, the other party accepted all conditions a week before the court session. The 8.6 million yuan payment for goods arrived in two installments: the first 5 million was credited on the 5th day after signing the agreement, and the second 3.6 million was settled 25 days later. Including overdue interest and litigation cost recovery, the actual total recovered exceeded 9.05 million.

**Question: If the other party truly has no money in their account, is filing a lawsuit a wasted effort?**

Answer: We handled a case in Nanshan where the opposing company had a zero account balance, but through investigation we discovered that its actual controller owned two properties in Futian. After applying for compulsory enforcement, the court seized the properties and initiated the appraisal and auction process. Therefore, even if the defendant's account is empty, as long as the shareholders have issues such as false capital contribution, capital withdrawal, or personality confusion, they can still be held liable under the relevant provisions of the Company Law. The key is to conduct thorough investigation of asset leads before filing the lawsuit, rather than filing blindly.

Similar Reminder: Three Suggestions for Shenzhen Business Owners

1. During contract performance, for each payment received, be sure to have the other party's legal representative sign for it or provide written confirmation of the reconciliation details, as these documents carry greater evidentiary weight than invoices. 2. If payment is overdue for more than three months, first send a lawyer's letter to preserve evidence of debt collection, interrupting the limitation period while also probing the other party's sincerity to repay. 3. For cases with a subject matter exceeding 5 million yuan, applying for property preservation at the same time as filing the case can greatly shorten the enforcement cycle.

The more the other party cries poverty, dodges, and stalls, the more it shows they no longer have the ability to fulfill the contract or are in the process of transferring assets. In commercial communities in Shenzhen with more than 500 residents, business owners miss the optimal window for litigation every week because of "wait a little longer." Litigation is not about venting frustration—it's about using the law to recover the money that rightfully belongs to you. But the前提 is that you must make the decision within the correct window period.

Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm is located at Room 1802, Tower A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen. If you are facing a contract breach or debt dispute, you are welcome to come by with your materials. Senior Director Lawyer Shen Jinlong has been practicing law for 26 years and has handled over a hundred commercial litigations involving tens of millions of yuan. He will tell you truthfully: which lawsuits are worth pursuing, which money cannot be recovered, and why.