MOSCOW, May 10 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld the recovery of $10 million instead of the $221 million initially claimed from the Moscow government for the Beryozka Cluster Home Community, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

The lawsuit revolved around a multipurpose construction contract dated December 29, 2005.

Beryozka sought 6 billion rubles ($201 million) in lost profit. It also sought to collect over 301 million rubles ($10 million) in actual damages and to return another 303 million rubles ($10.1 million) that it invested under the contract, plus interest.

The Moscow Commercial Court terminated the disputed contract in February and ordered the Moscow Committee for Investment Projects Implementation to pay Beryozka the 303 million rubles ($10.1 million) that were paid upfront and 81.5 million rubles ($2.7 million) as interest, but refused to recover the remaining sum.

The Moscow government and its investment and development and road-building and engineering construction departments acted as co-defendants in the case.

The Finance Department has also been involved as a third party.

The parties also disagreed on the contract type. The plaintiff held that it was a purchase and sales contract, while the defendants maintained that it was a special partnership agreement.

One of the departments said it deemed the contract null and void as it was concluded in breach of the law. It said the department had no authority to contract a co-investor and to enter into such arrangements, although the department should not be blamed for the failure to implement the agreement.