55: Zhou Yun: Don't get me wrong, I'm here to sue you.

As a county-level city, Linwu City’s economic development was at a mediocre level within Jiangdong Province.

However, when placed nationwide, it was quite ordinary, at least much worse than Hedong Province, where Zhou Yun stayed.

Zhou Yun carried his bag and took a taxi to the Linwu City Housing and Construction Bureau. He had originally planned to apply by mail, but after consideration, he decided to apply in person.

Even today, although the internet is highly developed and applications can be made directly online with a few clicks, some matters are best handled in person.

He waited a moment at the entrance of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, mainly for Wen Yuhe to arrive.

This was also to reduce some trouble.

Although he was a Lawyer, with a special power of attorney and relevant documents, Zhou Yun had seen in his previous life that some places were accustomed to making things difficult for people.

Especially some grassroots leaders who were specifically in charge, they felt that as long as you came to do business, they had to give you some trouble.

So much so that in some provinces in his previous life, it could truly be said that no matter what you were doing, whether it was a big matter or a small one, people were willing to find connections!

Or rather, find an acquaintance.

It even reached a point where it felt impossible to handle things through normal procedures; you had to find connections.

If you found connections, everything was easy to discuss, but if you didn't, there would always be various troubles in handling things.

Therefore, although the law stipulates that you can entrust someone at such times, what do you do if the other party tells you that it must be done in person when you go to handle it?

To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to bring the person along in advance.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Wen Yuhe arrived.

“Lawyer Zhou, oh, I’m so sorry, the bus was really hard to wait for.” Wen Yuhe jogged to the entrance, her face full of apology.

Zhou Yun smiled and said, “It’s okay, I just arrived too. Let’s go up.”

Wen Yuhe nodded, looked at the main entrance in front of her, and said with a hint of emotion, “I didn’t expect to come here again. Lawyer Zhou, you don’t know, we’ve been here many times before.”

“You know the situation after that, we couldn’t find anyone at all, and when we finally saw someone, they said they couldn’t handle it. What do you say about this…”

Zhou Yun smiled upon hearing this and said, “That’s why you didn’t take the right path. Why do we have to follow procedures to protect our rights? You actually never thought that procedures, in some cases, protect us ordinary people.”

“As long as we follow the procedures, the other party must give the required reply, even if it’s nonsense, they still have to reply.”

“But if we don’t follow the procedures, the other party can completely ignore us, understand?”

As for the relevant departments, although various procedural regulations make many things time-consuming, it also means that they must complete every step.

With more procedures, even if some people want to commit fraud, it’s easier for problems to arise.

Because once someone files an administrative lawsuit, the administrative agency must prove its innocence.

“Moreover, you’re only just getting started.”

Many people imagine that when they defend their rights, everyone goes together, the leader must come out to receive them, and then by reporting the problem to the leader, it can be resolved.

But the reality is not like that. First, the leader may not come out. Second, the leader will first ask you what problems you have, saying he doesn't understand.

After asking, he will say he will look into it first and give you a reply after a while.

When you come back after a while, the leader will tell you a lot of difficulties, and then say they will try to coordinate, but cannot give you an exact date.

When you visit frequently and they are really pressed, the leader will give you an approximate date, such as a certain month next year.

After a few such instances, a year or two will pass quickly, as ordinary people cannot defend their rights every day. Don't you work? Don't you earn money? Don't you support your family?

When you finally decide to succeed in defending your rights in one go and go to find someone again, hey, the leader has been replaced, and the new leader doesn't understand the situation and needs to understand it first!

As for what someone promised you before? Well, I didn't say that, I don't know anything, how can I solve it if I don't understand the situation?

Listening to Zhou Yun's narration, Wen Yuhe was also stunned, or rather, someone like her, who had been defending her rights for a “short” time, hadn't seen too many tricks yet.

Those unfinished projects that have been stalled for eight, nine, or ten years, that's real despair.

As they chatted, the two quickly arrived on the fifth floor. Generally, each department would publish the address and process for on-site information disclosure applications online.

Wen Yuhe was a little nervous, or rather, she habitually got nervous when coming to such places.

Zhou Yun, on the other hand, began to look around with a relaxed expression, as if he were at home.

After searching for a while, he finally found it. Zhou Yun stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Inside the office, several staff members were busy. Hearing the knock, Huang Xiaoli, a staff member, casually said, “Come in!”

The door was pushed open, and the people in the office immediately saw a young man leading a middle-aged woman walk in.

Huang Xiaoli sized up the two who entered, then asked, “Who are you, and what are you here for?”

Zhou Yun stepped forward and said, “Hello, Comrade. We are here to apply for information disclosure.”

“Information disclosure?” Huang Xiaoli frowned, “You can apply online now, just apply online, why did you come here?”

Zhou Yun smiled and said, “On-site application is faster, and on-site application is also a prescribed application method. I don’t think there’s any problem with following the regulations, is there?”

Because there is a regulation that for information disclosure, if the administrative agency can reply on the spot, it should reply on the spot.

“Alright, alright, tell me what you want to apply for.” Huang Xiaoli said expressionlessly.

Zhou Yun then pulled out the corresponding application form. This item could also be downloaded from the official websites of various departments. Both on-site applications and letter applications required filling it out.

Huang Xiaoli took the form and looked at it, then gestured to the person next to her.

Another staff member, who looked a bit older, walked over, picked up the application form, glanced at it, then looked at the two people in front of him, and said, “Ziyu Mountain City? No, why are you here again?”

“Didn’t we already say that we can’t handle this matter? It’s not that we didn’t hand over the houses, it’s the developer who didn’t. You should find the developer, right?”

Zhou Yun patiently waited for the other party to finish speaking, then said, “Sorry, Comrade, we are not here today to argue whether you can handle the handover of houses.”

“Today, we are applying for the disclosure of the supervised account information.”

“Of course, if you say you can’t even manage the supervised account, then I’ll turn around and leave, and I promise not to bother you again.”

“How does that sound to you?”

The slightly older staff member was immediately choked. He dared not say that.

Huang Xiaoli tried to smooth things over, saying, “What about the supervised account? Let me see.”

She took the application again and started reading it. After a while, she said, “You can’t disclose this information, can you?”

“Look at this supervised account detail. Although we supervise it, it’s actually still the developer’s company account. This shouldn’t be disclosed…”

Zhou Yun immediately said, “According to Article 30 of the Regulations on the Administration of Pre-sale of Commercial Housing in Hedong Province:”

“Before the completion of a commercial housing project, funds in the special account for commercial housing pre-sale funds established by the pre-seller in a Bank in the location of the commercial housing project can only be used for purchasing building materials and equipment necessary for the project construction, paying construction progress payments for the project, and statutory taxes and fees, and shall not be diverted for other purposes.”

“And now, the project is unfinished, and being unfinished means it’s not completed. So, normally, the money in it can only be used for project construction.”

“In such a situation, it is reasonable and lawful for my client, as an interested party, to apply for disclosure, isn’t it? Could it be that money that can only be used for project construction also involves commercial secrets?”

It can only be said that the matter of pre-sale supervised accounts is truly a mess.

For example, some provinces have become completely transparent in this regard, and they directly have a corresponding APP.

After purchasing a house, owners can log in based on the registered contract number to check the balance and expenditure of the supervised account anytime, anywhere.

If they believe there are issues with certain expenditures, they can inquire at any time.

In other words, part of the supervisory power is placed in the hands of the owners, because the owners are the ones who least want the project to be unfinished.

But when they come here, they don’t even want to disclose the details of the application.

For example, in Zhou Yun’s previous life, there was a case where, during an investigation, it was found that for an entire housing development, a lot of houses were sold, but only five owners’ pre-sale funds were deposited into the supervised account.

You can imagine what kind of situation this was. In the end, as expected, the houses were unfinished because the developer directly transferred the money away.

Huang Xiaoli was also at a loss. She looked at Zhou Yun and said, “She is the party involved, then you are…”

“I am her Lawyer, and this is my identification.”

Another staff member took the ID and looked at it, then suddenly said, “You are Zhou Yun? The one online…”

“Yes, the one who got stabbed, that’s nothing.” Zhou Yun smiled and said.

The two exchanged glances, and Huang Xiaoli quickly said, “Lawyer Zhou, right? Alright then, we’ll accept the application here. We’ll notify you when there’s a reply, how about that?”

Zhou Yun nodded and said, "No problem, then please give me the receipt."

For things like reporting a case, filing a case in Court, and on-site applications like this, one must obtain the corresponding acceptance receipt.

This receipt has a date, and these procedures all have regulations, such as how many days they have to respond to you.

If there is no response by the deadline, then an administrative lawsuit can be filed.

Holding the receipt, Zhou Yun left with Wen Yuhe.

Inside the office, Huang Xiaoli looked at the application in her hand with a bit of helplessness and said, "Well, trouble has arrived now."

The staff next to her also shook their heads; although they were not responsible for supervising accounts, they knew that if the supervision was truly without problems, the building would not have been left unfinished.

Originally, if it were the parties themselves, they could still find a solution, but they didn't expect it to be Lawyer Zhou Yun!

By now, although it couldn't be said that this Lawyer was famous nationwide, it was close enough; at least, anyone who paid a little attention to the news knew him.

Never mind, they wouldn't think about it anymore; although they were from the same department, this matter had nothing to do with them.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after parting with Wen Yuhe, Zhou Yun had already arrived at the Linwu City People's Court.

He took a number in the filing hall, and after waiting for a while, it was his turn at the window. Zhou Yun handed over the case materials.

Then he handed in another application: "Some evidence is still unclear, and I need to apply for an investigation order to check some information about the Hetong Bank Linwu Branch."

The staff member looked at the complaint, then flipped through the evidence and said, "Unfinished building? You're suing the Bank?"

Zhou Yun nodded: "Yes, is there any problem?"

The staff member said with a strange expression, "How is this not a problem? On what grounds are you suing? If there is no valid reason, then we will not accept it."

Although normally it's a case registration system, which only conducts a formal review of case materials rather than a substantive review, you can just look at this regulation.

In practice, ordinary cases are indeed formally reviewed, but when it comes to some special issues, you will realize that this step of filing a case can make your life hell.

Zhou Yun immediately said, "Valid reason? Haven't I already written it in my complaint? As a financial institution, the Bank is also the opener of the supervised account and should know the risks of depositing loans into a non-supervised account."

"However, it did not provide any warning, which in itself is a dereliction of duty in supervision!"

"Under the circumstances of dereliction of duty, I believe it should bear supplementary responsibility!"

The staff member looked at the evidence list and said, "But you currently have no evidence to prove that the other party deposited the loan into a non-supervised account."

Zhou Yun immediately smiled upon hearing this: "That's why I'm applying for a pre-litigation investigation order."

The staff member didn't speak, then looked carefully for a long time before saying, "I'll accept it for you first, but I have to tell you that we are currently very strict with cases involving unfinished buildings."

"You should know this situation..."

Zhou Yun nodded in understanding; in this situation, he would not argue with the other party because there was no need.

For cases like this, the leadership would definitely have to make the decision.

Leaving the Court, Zhou Yun returned to the hotel. Next was waiting; he was not too keen on returning to Jinghai now, mainly because the distance was a bit far.

Running back and forth would be troublesome, so it was better to just wait here.

He could also handle some cases here in the meantime.

By the next day, the relevant application had already been reported to the head of the filing division.

Looking at the materials in his hand, Division Chief Old Huang couldn't help but rub his temples; it was a headache.

He actually didn't want to sign off on cases involving unfinished buildings, but this Lawyer's identity was very special.

This person was now famous nationwide, known for being "tough."

He wasn't even afraid of stabbing, let alone anything else.

So, after much hesitation, he decided to ask for instructions from his leader to see whether to issue the investigation order.

On the morning of the third day, Zhou Yun received a call; the investigation order had been issued.

This surprised him a bit, because according to his experience, such cases were rarely resolved locally.

Grassroots Courts generally were not very willing to find trouble, so he had already prepared to go to the Intermediate Court above the city.

The fact that it was issued anyway already represented an attitude from the Court!

Because if they truly didn't want him to sue, the Court would have a hundred reasons to refuse to issue the investigation order, and without an investigation order, Zhou Yun would have no way.

But now it was good, it saved trouble.

At the Linwu Branch, Zhou Yun pushed the door open and entered. Soon, a young employee came forward with a smile and said, "Hello, are you here for a service?"

Zhou Yun also smiled and pulled out the investigation order: "Hello, could you please call your leader? I have something to discuss."

The young employee stepped forward and looked at the investigation order. Leaving aside other things, the heading of the People's Court and the large official seal certainly couldn't be faked.

Of course, you could fake it, but generally, many places would verify with the Court when they received a Lawyer's investigation order.

After verification, you could safely go in and "step on the sewing machine" (a euphemism for going to jail).

After waiting for a while, a person who introduced herself as the lobby manager came over to reconfirm the materials.

"Oh, Lawyer Zhou Yun, from Jinghai?"

Zhou Yun smiled and nodded: "Yes, from Jinghai."

The lobby manager took the materials from Zhou Yun's hand and began to verify, mainly checking whether the person and the corresponding information on the investigation order matched.

After verifying for a while, the lobby manager said with a bit of surprise, "This investigation order of yours is to check our Bank's previous loan issuance situation? Why are you checking this?"

"Is there any problem?"

Zhou Yun smiled again upon hearing this: "Don't misunderstand, there's no problem. It's just that I'm suing your Bank, and I found this evidence difficult to collect, so I can only apply to obtain it from you."

Uh... huh?

The lobby manager's eyes widened. Is what he said human language?

And you just said it directly?

Suing us without evidence, so you come to us to investigate?

Zhou Yun looked indifferent. Anyway, they would know later. If they had the guts, they could refuse the investigation order.

After being stunned, the lobby manager said, "Well, Lawyer Zhou, right? Can I ask why you're suing us?"

Zhou Yun said again, "It's because of an unfinished building. I believe you have problems in your supervision, so I'm suing you to bear supplementary responsibility."

"Don't worry, you should receive the summons in a while. No need to worry."

Lobby Manager: "..."

"Please wait a moment, I'll go call the leader."

Normally, she could agree to this, but given the current situation, she had to call the leader.

Zhou Yun was even more indifferent. When he handled cases, he would not keep anything confidential; he would just tell them directly.

If they had the guts, they could forge it, but forging within a Bank system was basically impossible.

As for refusing the investigation order, there was even less to say; he even hoped the other party would refuse.

A few years ago, many Banks simply ignored investigation orders; they refused anyone who wasn't from the Court.

The basis was the "Commercial Bank Law," which states that Banks need to be responsible for financial security.

And the Lawyer's investigation order, in essence, exists because there are too few people in the Court, so some facts cannot be investigated by themselves, so they entrust or authorize Lawyers to investigate.

So, if you look at relevant laws, there are no clear regulations on investigation orders; what exists are some regulations introduced by each province itself.

So the Bank had a reason: our basis is the Commercial Bank Law, which was enacted by the National People's Congress, the highest organ of state power!

Your regulation is an internal one, not even a law. On what grounds can it contend with our Commercial Bank Law?

Then why was it allowed later? The reason is simple: the Court took strong action.

The Court at that time saw this situation and thought, "What do you mean? Is my Court's reputation not working anymore? You Banks, one after another, are refusing the investigation orders I issue. What does that mean?"

Are you disrespecting us?

Other units might be excused, but can you, a vulnerable group like a Bank, also refuse?

You cooperate so well with the anti-fraud work of the neighboring unit, but when it comes to us, you refuse?

Then, Courts across the country issued fines for refusing investigation orders. Refuse, huh? We'll fine you!

A certain President who liked foreign languages made it very clear about the interpretation of the law: Do you, the Bank, understand the law, or do I, the Court, understand the law?

The arm cannot twist the thigh. After being fined a lot of money, all Banks began to cooperate...

The lobby manager went straight to the second floor and knocked on the office of the Branch Vice Director.

"Director Fang, the situation is like this. That Lawyer said he's suing our Bank because of an unfinished building and wants us to bear supplementary responsibility. Now he wants to apply to investigate the previous loan situation."