27,759 Yuan Unpaid Food Supply Debt: School Cafeteria Contractor and CEO Held Jointly Liable After Default

A food supplier who delivered dry goods to a college cafeteria operated by a catering management company obtained a judgment for 27,759 yuan against both the company and its chief executive after neither defendant appeared in court.

Beginning in 2009, the plaintiff supplied dry groceries and pantry items to a private college cafeteria that was contracted and operated by a catering management company. The business relationship continued for approximately two years, with goods delivered regularly on credit.

On June 28, 2011, the two parties conducted a settlement of the outstanding balance. The catering company issued a written acknowledgment confirming it owed the supplier 27,759 yuan for dry goods deliveries, with a commitment to pay in full by July 15, 2011. The company’s chief executive personally signed and affixed his fingerprint to the debt acknowledgment as a co-debtor, not merely as a corporate representative.

When the payment deadline passed without any payment, the supplier filed suit against both the catering company and its chief executive. Both defendants were served by public notice after their whereabouts became unknown, but neither appeared in court or submitted any defense. The court treated their absence as a waiver of litigation rights.

The court confirmed the supply relationship was a valid commercial contract based on the written debt acknowledgment, which clearly stated the amount owed and the payment deadline. The chief executive’s personal signature on the debt document was interpreted as a voluntary assumption of joint repayment liability, transforming a purely corporate obligation into a shared debt. The court ordered both defendants to pay 27,759 yuan within ten days, with double interest on delayed payments and 494 yuan in court fees, reduced to 247 yuan against the advance payment, charged to both defendants jointly.