Case Overview
Fifty-four Guatemalan proceedings across five lawsuit groups: shareholder exclusion, damages, prescription of dividends, abuse of right, and BDT's third-party intervention.
1
Exclusions
2
Damages
3
Embargoes
4
Prescription
5
Abuse of Rights
4 Lawsuits9 Documents
In 2011, the Grupo Avícola Villalobos companies each held a shareholder meeting where the other shareholders voted to exclude Lisa, alleging fraudulent acts. Lisa has opposed every exclusion in summary proceedings, seeking to have them declared illegal, reinstate its shareholder status, and confirm its right to collect declared and withheld dividends. Even if any exclusion were upheld, Lisa would remain entitled to fair, market-value compensation for its shares, with Guatemalan procedure providing specific summary mechanisms to establish that value.
13 Lawsuits38 Documents
Since 2012, Grupo Avícola Villalobos has sued Lisa for alleged damages and sought precautionary seizures (embargos) over Lisa's shares and dividends. The claims are grounded in Lisa's pursuit of declared and withheld dividends and other shareholder rights, which Guatemalan courts have ruled does not constitute damage to the company, and in alleged media activity that, where reached on the merits, courts have found was not attributable to Lisa. No financial or reputational harm has been proven. Lisa has largely defeated these claims, and most associated seizures have been lifted.
28 Lawsuits56 Documents
Since 2017, Grupo Avícola Villalobos has filed dozens of ordinary and summary proceedings seeking to have Lisa's dividend rights declared time-barred under the five-year limitation period. The companies declared the dividends but never fixed a time or place for collection, and they themselves obtained embargo orders over those dividends that prevented payment. The highest Guatemalan courts to address the question have rejected the prescription theory and ruled that Lisa's dividends since 1999 remain exigible and are Lisa's property.
3 Lawsuits7 Documents
Since 2021, after Lisa filed criminal complaints, amparos, and foreign lawsuits to uncover the Grupo Avícola Villalobos companies' conduct, those companies responded with abuse-of-right claims, alleging Lisa exercised its right of action with "excess and bad faith" to harm them commercially and reputationally. Lisa has argued these claims are vexatious, intended to punish a minority shareholder for accessing the courts, drain its resources, and manufacture liabilities to offset the dividends owed. Two of three have been definitively dismissed on prerequisite and standing grounds; the third remains pending.
6 Lawsuits11 Documents
BDT acquired Lisa's litigation rights and shares through a Panamanian settlement agreement approved by the 12th Civil Court of Panama and confirmed by the Primer Tribunal Superior. On that basis, the Guatemalan courts have admitted BDT as a third-party intervenor (tercero coadyuvante) in key proceedings, allowing it to act alongside Lisa to protect the economic and shareholder rights it now holds. BDT's intervention supports Lisa's claims to recover declared and withheld dividends and the related defense against the companies' lawsuits.