Julio Martínez reports that Villamorey and Galindo, Arias y López filed a criminal complaint against the Fourth Civil Court judge to force reversal of the embargo issued in Lisa, S.A.'s judicial-accounting proceeding.

Sequence of Events

On August 2, 2022, the Fourth Civil Circuit Court issued Order 1234 against Villamorey, S.A. within the special accounting proceeding Exp. 14606-21 brought by Lisa, S.A. Villamorey, through its counsel, filed the corresponding procedural challenges.

On September 22, 2022, the law firm Galindo, Arias y López, acting as Villamorey's counsel, filed a brief at the civil court attaching an authenticated copy of a criminal complaint (querella coadyuvante) filed against the presiding judge, Solange Le Ferrec Malek de Booker. The complaint characterizes this act as a deliberate intimidation maneuver: the presentation of criminal charges against the judge directly in her own courtroom, in a civil case entirely unrelated to criminal matters.

The following day, September 23, 2022, the judge issued Order No. 1473/14606-21 vacating the previously ordered embargo. The complaint emphasizes that less than 24 hours elapsed between the presentation of the intimidating complaint and the reversal of the embargo, which in the complainant's view demonstrates that Villamorey's conduct compromised the judge's independence.

Criminal Law Basis

The complaint argues that Villamorey's conduct satisfies two criminal offenses. First, Article 360 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who through violence, intimidation, or deception obstructs a public official in the legitimate exercise of their functions, with an aggravated penalty when the act is perpetrated in a judicial proceeding. Second, Article 384 punishes anyone who files a criminal complaint against another person knowing them to be innocent.

The complainant argues that both Villamorey and its legal representative knew that the judge's conduct did not constitute any criminal offense, and that the complaint was filed solely to pressure her into modifying decisions adopted in the exercise of her judicial authority. This argument is reinforced by the fact that Villamorey's constitutional amparo challenging the judge's rulings had already been denied as inadmissible by the First Superior Tribunal in its Amparo Ruling of September 23, 2022.

"Tanto VILLAMOREY, S.A., como su representante legal RAMIRO LOPEZ NIMATUJ, y su agente residente están claros que no existe delito y aun así, presentan una querella coadyuvante con el fin de obligar a la Juez Cuarta, la Licenciada Solange Le Ferrec Malek de Booker, a cambiar una decisión tomada como funcionaria del Órgano Judicial" (Page 5)

Procedural Context

The complaint also invokes Article 472 of the Judicial Code, which provides that procedural omissions do not constitute nullity when the act achieves its intended purpose. The complainant argues that the alleged omission Villamorey attributed to the judge in its criminal complaint did not constitute an administrative fault or a crime, but rather a regular procedural act within the scope of judicial discretion.

The filing of the criminal complaint copy at the civil court, without any formal admission, constitutes according to the complaint an additional transgression: the introduction of an unrelated criminal matter into civil proceedings for the sole purpose of intimidating the presiding judge.

Legal Basis

• Articles 81 to 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Law 63 of 2008), establishing standing to file the complaint
• Article 360 of the Penal Code, crimes against public officials through intimidation, with aggravated penalty for perpetration in judicial proceedings
• Article 384 of the Penal Code, calumny in judicial proceedings by filing a complaint knowing the accused is innocent
• Articles 303, 469, 470, 472, 473, 474, and 481 of the Judicial Code, regarding procedural formalities and judicial powers

Relief Sought

• Investigation of the reported crimes against all natural and legal persons involved
• Full application of criminal penalties upon confirmation of the alleged facts

Signatories

• Lic. Julio R. Martínez V., attorney, ID No. 8-348-998, bar license No. 5620