【 Reason for recommendation 】

This case is a land lease contract dispute in the context of collective land resource consolidation in Beijing. It is a typical case of invalid lease contracts due to violations of the planned use of village collective agricultural land. The case also involves the court's judgment rules for changing or adding litigation requests during the second instance, which has guiding significance. Due to the collective land resource remediation work in Beijing during the performance period of the land lease contract signed between the lessee and the principal, the principal sent a letter to the lessee informing them to return the land. Therefore, the lessee sued and claimed that the principal unilaterally breached the contract, demanding that the principal bear high liability for breach of contract damages, compensate for asset and business losses, etc.

After accepting the commission, our lawyer conducted a specific analysis of the case and concluded that the "Lease Agreement" and "Supplementary Agreement" signed by both parties were invalid, taking into account the planned use of the land involved in the case. We also made a targeted counterclaim based on the client's demands. In the end, the court basically adopted the opinions of our lawyers, supported our counterclaim request, obtained a winning judgment, and achieved a satisfactory result for the client.


[Client] (Plaintiff in the original trial, Defendant in the counterclaim, Appellee): Economic Cooperative Society of a Village in Chaoyang District, Beijing (hereinafter referred to as "OECD")

[Counterparty] (Defendant in the original trial, Plaintiff in the counterclaim, Appellant): Beijing Logistics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Logistics Company")

[The other party's lawsuit request] 1. OECD shall compensate the logistics company for the asset and operational losses caused by its unilateral termination of the contract; 2. The OECD pays the logistics company liquidated damages, moving logistics fees, and evaluation fees.

[Client's counterclaim request] 1. Request confirmation that the "Lease Agreement" and "Supplementary Agreement" signed by both parties are invalid; Request the logistics company to dismantle the above ground objects and vacate and return the land involved in the case; 2. The logistics company shall pay the usage fee based on the rental standard until the actual date of vacating.


【 Basic Case 】

In 2005, the logistics company, as the lessee (Party B), signed a "Lease Agreement" with the Economic Cooperation Society (Party A), which stipulated that Party A would lease the collective land in this village to Party B for storage and logistics, with a lease term of 20 years. The two parties also agreed on rental standards, payment methods, and other contents. After the contract was signed, both parties fulfilled their obligations as agreed, and the logistics company built warehouses and other facilities on the ground.

In 2016, both parties signed a supplementary agreement stipulating that the land leased by Party B is agricultural land; If any unit or department requests to restore the leased property to its original state, Party B shall unconditionally comply and bear the relevant responsibilities.

In August 2018, the Economic Cooperation Society issued an "Explanation" to logistics companies, mainly stating that based on higher-level policies and village collective resolutions, the lease relationship should be terminated, collective land should be reclaimed, and appropriate subsidies should be given to above ground building facilities. In October 2018, the Village Economic Cooperation Society and the Village Committee sent a letter to the logistics company requesting them to promptly demolish illegal buildings and facilities within the leased land area.

After investigation, the logistics company paid rent and related fees before July 2018 and actually occupied the land involved in the case before filing the lawsuit. The "Reply Notice" issued by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources shows that the nature of the leased land involved in the case is collective land, and the land use is for forestry purposes.

In the second trial, the logistics company stated to the court that its claim was based on the breach of contract by OECD, and clearly stated that it insisted on the validity of the contract and upheld the original lawsuit request. After the trial, the logistics company requested to change the appeal request to confirm the invalidity of the Lease Agreement and Supplementary Agreement, and ordered OECD to compensate for the losses.

[Opinion of our lawyer's representative]

1. The leased land involved in the case belongs to the nature of forestry land, and the logistics company changed the land use for storage without authorization, which violates the relevant provisions of China's land management laws. The "Lease Contract" and "Supplementary Agreement" involved in the case should be invalid. And the logistics company claims both breach of contract damages and liquidated damages, which constitute duplicate compensation.

2. After the contract becomes invalid, the subject matter obtained from the contract should be returned. The Economic Cooperation Society has the right to request the logistics company to demolish the illegal buildings constructed on the collective land involved in the case, restore the original state of the land, and return it.

3. Although the "Lease Agreement" and "Supplementary Agreement" of both parties are invalid, the logistics company has actually used the land until now. The Economic Cooperation Society advocates that it pays the usage fee according to the rental standard until the actual vacating date, which complies with legal provisions.

4. The logistics company clearly stated in the first instance procedure and second instance trial that it insists on the validity of the contract involved in the case and claims responsibility based on the right to claim damages for breach of contract; After the end of the court debate, if the plaintiff claims the invalidity of the contract and demands compensation for losses based on it, the amended lawsuit request should be resolved separately, otherwise it will infringe on the trial level interests of the OECD.

Summary of the Judgment

1. The leased land involved in the case belongs to the nature of forestry land. Both parties signed the "Lease Contract" to use the land for logistics and warehousing purposes, which actually changed the land use and violated the relevant provisions of China's land management laws. The above contract and its supplementary agreements should be invalid. After the contract was deemed invalid, the first instance ordered the logistics company to return the land and above ground items involved in accordance with legal provisions.

2. According to Article 328 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the logistics company's application for a judgment on the issue of compensation for damages caused by the invalidity of the contract was made after the end of the court debate and constitutes a substantial increase in the first instance litigation request. According to the judicial interpretation, this court sought the opinion of the Economic Cooperation Society, which did not agree to mediation and did not agree to be heard together by this court. Therefore, this court will not hear it together, and the logistics company may file a separate lawsuit.

3. Although the "Lease Agreement" and "Supplementary Agreement" involved in the case were deemed invalid, the logistics company should have paid the corresponding usage fee to the Economic Cooperation Society for the actual use of the involved land. The first instance judgment ruled that the usage fee paid to the actual vacating date according to the rental standard stipulated in the contract was correct.

【 Judgment Result 】

1、 Confirm that the Lease Agreement and Supplementary Agreement signed between the logistics company and OECD are invalid;

2、 The logistics company shall vacate and return the land and above ground items under the lease agreement to OECD within 30 days from the effective date of the judgment;

3、 The logistics company shall pay the usage fee to OECD until the actual date of vacating, calculated according to the rental standard in the lease agreement;

4、 Reject all litigation requests from the logistics company.