[4] Mistakenly Signed "Inequitable Clause" Hindered Property Handover, Zhiming Lawyers Fought Against Developer to Help Owner Successfully Defend Rights

In a certain commercial residential community in Shenzhen, due to the developer's failure to deliver the properties on time and repeated delays, the community's homeowner representatives, in September 2018, sought out the legal team of Jia Runlian, Zhao Min, and Shao Chuwei from our firm, intending to pursue legal remedies. Attorney Jia's team subsequently accepted the entrustment of dozens of homeowners in the community.
 

After analysis by Attorney Jia and his team, the case presents certain complexities. First, the appendix terms of the house pre-sale contract altered key provisions of the main contract and separately stipulated many unfair clauses exempting the developer from liability. Second, under the developer's inducement, most homeowners signed a series of supplementary agreements, such as a delayed delivery confirmation. The developer's aim was to nullify the legitimate rights of the homeowners. Without evidence that the homeowners were coerced or defrauded when signing, Attorney Jia, based on past case experience, judged that some judges might consider the supplementary agreements as reflecting the parties' true intent, deeming them valid even if unfavorable to consumers, thus dismissing the plaintiffs' claims. Conversely, some courts might adopt the opposite view, allowing the plaintiffs to ultimately protect their rights. Due to the judge's discretion, different verdicts may arise.

Initially, Attorney Jia sent a letter to the developer for preliminary communication, but the developer was extremely stubborn, claiming they would not pay a single cent in compensation. With no other option, we formally filed a lawsuit in November 2018. To prove force majeure and contractual exemption grounds, the developer submitted over a dozen pieces of evidence and filed a counterclaim in court, demanding that some homeowners bear liability for overdue payments. Due to the severe imbalance in the breach-of-contract clauses in the contract appendix, the counterclaim amount even exceeded the sum of two types of liquidated damages in the main suit. Facing such pressure, Attorney Jia remained calm and composed during the trial, comprehensively addressing the validity of standard terms based on case specifics and legal principles. He argued that the defendant, leveraging its experience and advantageous position, deliberately included various unfair clauses in the supplementary agreements without alerting the plaintiffs or providing reasonable explanations. According to China's Contract Law and Consumer Protection Law, these standard terms should be deemed invalid. Confronted with Attorney Jia's compelling arguments, the defendant compromised and agreed to mediation. Ultimately, under the court's organization, both parties reached a mediation agreement, with dozens of plaintiffs receiving compensation ranging from over one hundred thousand to over two hundred thousand yuan, and the defendant withdrew the counterclaim in court.

Since the case was tried under summary procedures, only one week remained from receiving the court summons to the trial date. In such a tight timeframe, Attorney Jia and his team worked day and night tirelessly, preparing for the trial while continuously negotiating with the developer. Their efforts were highly praised by the community homeowners. Afterwards, homeowner representatives presented a banner to express their gratitude.