Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 858 Surprise

Tanimoto was not afraid of these contractors suing Nippon Steel. After all, at least on the surface, this was a dispute over the quality of steel, and it would not turn into a scandal of Nippon Steel defaulting on contractors. This level of litigation would have almost no significant impact on Nippon Steel. Maybe Nippon Steel could win the lawsuit and default on most of the settlement payment.

For Kitahara, filing a lawsuit is not of great significance.

The most important thing is to pull out the teeth from the tiger's mouth.

Among all the forces, realize the contractor's claims.

Tanimoto judged that the other party did not have any substantial means of killing.

Therefore, he dared to make harsh remarks.

The contractors behind him all looked at Kitahara nervously. In fact, they also understood that their representative lawyer was a young man and they could not expect him to do too much. Most people wanted this young man to vent their anger towards Nippon Steel. As for asking this young man to get their money back, how could they expect a young lawyer to do something that these experienced veterans could not do?

Kitahara remained unmoved by Tanimoto's harsh words, and he still kept a smile on his face:

"Lawyer Tanimoto, you are the ones who lack the spirit of commercial negotiation! We have delivered all the steel to Nippon Steel. However, up to now, after the delivery, you have not paid even a penny. You told a contractor who fulfilled the production plan in accordance with the contract that you should have the spirit of commercial negotiation. Your words are ridiculous!"

Kitahara's words were a direct and forceful rebuttal.

"As for the lawsuit—" Kitahara showed a sly smile, "If you, Nippon Steel, don't give us an explanation today, we will call the police."

Call the police? !

Tanimoto didn't expect that the lawyer on the other side would come up with such a word? !

Call the police?

Is this a joke?

When does a business dispute like this become a criminal offense?

Tanimoto didn't understand why the lawyer said that. He must be joking.

"Lawyer Kitahara, you are talking nonsense! Why call the police?!"

Kitahara shook his head. "No, he's not talking nonsense. Before we came here, we, the contractor, discovered that there were many clerks who had never been seen before in the Sixth and Seventh Steel Plants, and they were constantly walking back and forth. Combined with the previously leaked news that the bank was planning to waive interest on Nippon Steel, those clerks were probably lawyers and accountants sent by the bank to conduct due diligence on Nippon Steel's assets."

"Nippon Steel will probably reach a new financing plan with its major banks. The most important thing for the banks is to ask Nippon Steel to provide additional guarantees. Those lawyers and accountants are probably checking the assets that Nippon Steel can use as collateral."

"In this regard, some of the production lines and production equipment previously invested by our contractor, Nippon Steel, may be disposed of by you, Nippon Steel, and mortgaged to the bank!"

"What does this have to do with criminal offenses?" Tanimoto further asked, "You just said you would call the police. I want you to clarify what you meant by that now!"

"You, Nippon Steel, have now shut down the sixth and seventh steel plants, blocking our contractors from using the production equipment, and using security guards to prevent us from entering the plant. At the same time, you intend to take control of the equipment and mortgage it to the bank. Your actions, Nippon Steel, have constituted robbery in the legal sense."

Robbery?!

Tanimoto didn't expect Kitahara to say that.

Could this be robbery?

In fact, this is a classic legal issue in robbery.

That is, whether the object of robbery can be fixed assets such as houses, large-scale production equipment, etc.

In the general impression, the objects of robbery are nothing more than movable property such as bags, cash, jewelry, and mobile phones. However, whether the objects of robbery can be extended to assets such as real estate has always been a controversial issue.

"You, Nippon Steel, used security guards to obstruct our contractors, which is a use of violence. At the same time, you intended to dispose of the equipment on the production line, which excluded our contractors from possessing the equipment. From a legal perspective, what you did at Nippon Steel fully meets the criminal elements of robbery."

Kitahara's words are broken down concisely.

He briefly explained why Nippon Steel's current actions constituted robbery. Tanimoto was shocked by Kitahara's words.

He wanted to refute Kitahara's words.

But at least there is nothing wrong with the logic of this statement on the surface.

It is actually quite difficult to refute in an instant.

Yes, Tanimoto didn't expect that.

A ridiculous statement that appears to constitute robbery.

But under the manipulation of this young lawyer, it turned into a well-organized point of view.

The angle of Kitahara's attack just happened to hit Tanimoto's blind spot.

After all – Tanimoto is a business lawyer.

He doesn't have much experience in criminal cases.

However, Tanimoto was a top lawyer after all, and he immediately replied:

"Don't forget. All your equipment is located within the private land of Nippon Steel. We are just exercising the rights of the landowner to decide who can come in and who can't. This is not a criminal act. Lawyer Kitahara, from what we can see today, you have gathered so many people and gathered in our headquarters building. We should be the ones to call the police!"

"Since you have no sincerity in solving the problem today, please go back!" Tanimoto directly ordered them to leave.

"We are here for two reasons today. The first is to ask you to pay immediately." Kitahara said with a smile, "The second is that we want to obtain from you the records of the board of directors and shareholders' meetings, financial reports, and account books related to the disposal of major assets of Nippon Steel!"

Tanimoto felt that the lawyer Kitahara in front of him must be crazy.

First he said he would call the police.

Now they say they want to check the accounts.

However, they are just contractors, small-scale creditors.

Such untenable demands have been made again and again.

When the CFO Nagai, who was standing nearby, heard this request, he also felt it was unreasonable. How could the resolutions of the shareholders' meeting and the board of directors of Nippon Steel be given to such a group of contractors to see casually? Moreover, they wanted to conduct an audit? Who do these workshop contractors really think they are? Do they think they are a bank?!

"Lawyer Kitahara!" Tanimoto said bluntly, "You are pushing your luck! These are our corporate secrets of Nippon Steel and cannot be shown to outsiders. Your request has no legal basis at all!"

"Oh--really?" Kitahara's mouth curled up.

"I forgot to tell you, Attorney Tanimoto. The more than one hundred workshop contractors in the lobby today have another identity. They are——"

"A shareholder of Nippon Steel."

(End of this chapter)