environmental shutdown

Brief introduction to the case: It started with a notice of illegal construction! (This case is from an actual case of our firm, reprinting and excerpts are prohibited)

1. On October 17, 2014, the People’s Government of Wujin Town, Xinjin County (now changed to Wujin Sub-district Office) issued a “Notice of Ordering Demolition within a Time Limit”, stating that the eight newly built brick-concrete houses that Xiao had built in his yard without authorization violated the provisions of Article 64 of the Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People’s Republic of China, and he was limited to demolishing the illegal buildings by himself before October 23, 2014. If it is not demolished within the time limit, it will be forcibly demolished in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

2. At 8 a.m. on November 4, 2014, when his family was not at home, the Wujin Subdistrict Office led more than 100 people to demolish all his houses.

Case handling strategy: Professional lawyers will always give you a complete plan.

After our firm accepted the entrustment in September 2015, we formulated two litigation plans. First, Litigation 1: Revoke the "Demolition Notice within a Time Limit" issued by Wujin Subdistrict Office; Litigation 2: Request confirmation that Wujin Subdistrict Office's forced demolition of houses is illegal.

On August 20, 2015, lawyers Wang Qingfeng and Lu Jianan, as agents of the plaintiff Xiao, filed a lawsuit with the court with the Wujin Office as the defendant, requesting to revoke the "Demolition Notice within a Time Limit" issued by the defendant. During the court hearing, we proposed that the defendant did not have the subject qualifications and violated urban and rural regulations and laws, etc., and finally revoked the specific administrative actions of the Defendant's Demolition Notice within a Time Limit.(Won the lawsuit for the first time)

On December 16, 2015, Wang Qingfeng and Lu Jianan, as agents of the plaintiff Xiao, filed a lawsuit with the court against the Wujin Subdistrict Office as the defendant, requesting that the defendant's forced demolition of houses be confirmed as illegal. In the end, the court confirmed that the defendant's forced demolition of the house was illegal.(Won the lawsuit for the second time)

The basis for the court’s decision:

The court based on Article 65 of the "Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People's Republic of China" "If a rural construction planning permit is not obtained in accordance with the law or construction is not carried out in accordance with the provisions of the rural construction planning permit in a township or village planning area, the township or town people's government shall order the construction to stop and make corrections within a time limit; if corrections are not made within the time limit, they may be demolished." Only if the illegally constructed buildings are located within the township or village planning area, the township people's government can deal with illegal buildings in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations on urban and rural planning.

3. On January 28, 2016, the Xinjin County Urban and Rural Planning Administration issued a "Decision on Demolition of Illegal Construction within a Time Limit", believing that the eight houses built in Xiao's courtyard violated Article 40 of the "Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People's Republic of China". According to the provisions of Article 64 of the "Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People's Republic of China", they were restricted to demolish by themselves before February 15, 2016. If they are not demolished within the time limit, the Xinjin County Urban and Rural Planning Administration will take compulsory demolition measures in accordance with the law.

The basis for the court’s decision:

According to Article 10 of the "Regulations of the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People's Congress on Preventing, Investigating and Punishing Illegal Construction", "Urban and rural planning administrative law enforcement departments and township and town people's governments shall fully listen to the opinions of the parties before making administrative penalties and administrative enforcement decisions on illegal construction in accordance with the law." When the administration makes a decision that is unfavorable to the administrative counterpart, it should inform it of the facts, reasons and basis for the administrative action, and give the parties an opportunity to state and defend themselves. When the defendant made the "Decision on Demolition of Illegal Construction within a Time Limit", he failed to inform the plaintiff of his right to make statements and defences, which violated the requirements of administrative due process and constituted a procedural violation.(Won the lawsuit for the third time)

Lawyer’s comment: Because I filed the lawsuit early and prepared early, I finally received compensation 10 times more than others, all because I won the lawsuit!

On October 17, 2014, the Wujin Subdistrict Office of Xinjin County issued a "demolition notice within a time limit" to the plaintiff Xiao, and his house was illegally demolished on November 4, 2014. The agent accepted the case in September 2015, and filed two lawsuits with the court. One was to revoke the time limit demolition notice, and the other was to confirm that the forced demolition of the house was illegal. Both cases were won in the end. But the matter was not over yet. On January 28, 2016, the Xinjin County Urban and Rural Planning Administration issued a "decision on demolition within a time limit" on him. The agent believed that this was a targeted retaliation for law enforcement, and filed a lawsuit against the decision on demolition within a time limit. In the end, the court revoked the decision. After that, Xiao’s house was included in the scope of expropriation due to the construction of the subway, and everyone else was compensated 560 yuan per square meter in accordance with the policy. Because of Xiao’s three lawsuits, he received compensation that was 10 times more than other people’s, and he also got two sets of affordable housing. The reason was that the expropriation department believed that although Xiao’s family had not obtained the relevant procedures, after several lawsuits, the court did not find her family to be an illegally built house, so they finally received compensation that was beyond their imagination.

Lawyer’s advice: If you encounter demolition, find a lawyer as early as possible. The rewards will always outweigh the costs!

The parties concerned need to pay great attention when relevant government departments post various announcements and issue various documents. If they are not careful, their factories, residences, breeding farms, etc. may be identified as illegal construction. They must promptly consult a professional lawyer and file a lawsuit against the relevant government documents and let the court revoke or confirm it. If the lawsuit is not filed in time, it may really be illegal construction, and no compensation will be given during expropriation.