The Twelfth Civil Court approves the extrajudicial settlement between BDT Investments Inc. and Lisa, S.A., orders the full lifting of the $19,184,680.00 attachment over Lisa's shares, dividends, and bank funds, and closes the simple executive proceeding.

Procedural Background

The simple executive proceeding had given rise, on December 12, 2012, to a $19,184,680.00 attachment under Order 1838-2012, issued by the same court. That precautionary measure reached a broad set of Lisa, S.A.'s assets: shares in eight companies (including Villamorey, S.A. and several Avícola Villalobos Group companies incorporated in Guatemala), declared and future dividends, funds held for Lisa by Villamorey at GTC Bank Inc., the rights and credits Lisa stood to recover in the ordinary proceeding with sequestration action it brought against Villamorey (Exp. 556-99, where sequestration had been decreed under Order 1624-08 of October 27, 2008), and any sums Lisa held in local banks. The attachment remained in force for more than nine years without effective recovery of the debt.

Approval of the Settlement

The parties submitted an extrajudicial settlement, executed on February 19, 2020 through their respective counsel, and asked the Court to approve it and terminate the proceeding. The Court confirmed that the proponents held authority to settle and withdraw from the proceeding and that the agreement's clauses did not contravene the legal order, satisfying Article 1082 of the Judicial Code, and on that basis approved the settlement and brought the simple executive proceeding to a close. The approval ends a precautionary measure that had encumbered Lisa's shares, dividends, and bank funds across Panama and Guatemala for nearly a decade.

Ruling

• The extrajudicial settlement submitted by the parties is approved, terminating the simple executive proceeding brought by BDT Investments Inc. against Lisa, S.A.
• The attachment decreed under Order 1838-2012, up to $19,184,680.00, is ordered lifted in full, releasing Lisa's shares in the eight companies, her declared and future dividends, the funds at GTC Bank Inc., the rights and credits arising from Exp. 556-99, and any sums held in local banks
• Once the ruling becomes final and the corresponding notifications are issued, the case file is ordered sent to the archive

Legal Basis

• Article 1082 of the Judicial Code — Governs judicial approval of an extrajudicial settlement submitted by the parties within a pending proceeding, where the proponents are empowered to settle and the terms do not contravene the legal order

Signatories

• Licdo. Juan Carlos Yatis C., Judge, Twelfth Civil Circuit Court
• Lcda. Gadihuzcka Rudas, Judicial Secretary