Failure of the Plaintiff or Defendant to Pursue the Case

According to Article 150/1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if the parties duly summoned fail to appear at the hearing, or if they appear but declare that they will not pursue the case, a decision is made to dismiss the case. In this situation, it is not possible to issue a ruling of "procedural dismissal of the case." Otherwise, the decision would be overturned.

According to the decision of the 14th Civil Chamber dated September 15, 2014, numbered 5777/9868; “…Upon examination of the file, it was observed that the plaintiff did not attend the last hearing on December 26, 2013, and the defendant's attorney stated that they would not pursue the case. In accordance with Article 150/1 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, it is necessary to decide to dismiss the case. In this situation, while the court should have decided to dismiss the case in accordance with the aforementioned procedural rule, it issued a written judgment, which led to the reversal of the decision.”

According to the decision of the 5th Civil Chamber dated 22.12.2014, numbered 16341/31019; “…Article 150/1 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 states that if neither of the parties duly summoned appears at the hearing, or if they appear but declare that they will not pursue the case, the case should be dismissed. The fact that the plaintiff and their attorney explicitly stated in their written statements to the court that they were abandoning the case means that this does not have the effect of a final judgment and cannot be considered as a waiver of the case as regulated in Articles 307, 309, 310 and 311 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Given that the plaintiff's attorney stated that they were abandoning the case, the defendant administration should have been asked about its right to pursue the case, and a judgment should have been rendered accordingly. Therefore, the decision to dismiss the case due to waiver was incorrect.”

Lawsuits concerning the cancellation and registration of title deeds based on a promise to sell real estate can also be filed through a legal representative (lawyer). In this case, if the parties do not attend the hearing, the court will decide to dismiss the case until it is reopened. For example, if the plaintiff's legal representative does not attend the hearing by submitting a letter of excuse, and if the excuse is based on a valid reason, the court should not decide to dismiss the case by rejecting the letter of excuse.

According to Article 150/1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if both parties fail to appear at a hearing despite being duly summoned, the court shall decide to dismiss the case. If one of the parties submits a letter of excuse to the court, and the court deems the excuse valid and accepts it, it shall set a new hearing date and summon the parties to that hearing. Otherwise, a decision to dismiss the case cannot be made.

If a case has been dismissed, either party may renew the case within three months of the dismissal date. The request for renewal, along with the date, time, and place of the hearing, shall be notified to the parties (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 150/4).

In the specific case, the plaintiff's attorney requested an excuse for not attending the hearing on May 23, 2013, citing the need to attend hearings in seven separate case files. The court rejected the plaintiff's attorney's excuse and decided that the case should be considered as not having been filed. If the excuse is based on a valid reason, the judge should accept it. Since the plaintiff's attorney stated the grounds for their excuse in their request, the request should have been accepted. Therefore, the court should have continued the proceedings, considering that the necessary legal conditions for considering the case as not having been filed were not met. However, the court's decision, based on an erroneous assessment, necessitates reversal.” (3rd Civil Chamber, November 6, 2014, decision no. 6674/14531)