The 16th Civil Circuit Court admits the asset attachment requested by Lisa, S.A. against Juan Luis Bosch Gutierrez and sets a $5,000,000.00 bond.

The measure was sought by Lcda. María Luisa Villarreal Palacios, counsel for Lisa, S.A., against Juan Luis Bosch Gutierrez. The court confined its review to the formal admissibility requirements of Article 531(3) of the Judicial Code and, finding them satisfied, proceeded to fix the bond required under subsection 6 of that article without reaching the merits of the underlying claim.

Bond

The court set a bond of $5,000,000.00 that Lisa was required to post pursuant to Article 570 of the Judicial Code, to cover any damages that might result from the adoption of the measure. The magnitude of this bond reflects the scale of assets at issue in Exp. 83573-21, the accounting proceeding in which Bosch and Villamorey, S.A. have held Lisa's dividends under judicial deposit since 2008.

Procedural Context

This order came twenty days after the same court issued Order 12 on January 5, 2023, admitting the special summary accounting demand against Bosch. The attachment request complemented the principal action by seeking to secure the defendant's assets while the proceeding was pending. Subsequently, through Order 712 of April 11, 2023, the court corrected the original admission to grant Bosch a ten-business-day period to appear and render the accounting.

Ruling

• Admitted the asset attachment (secuestro) filed by Lisa, S.A. against Juan Luis Bosch Gutierrez (personal identification No. A-1 424075, Guatemalan passport No. 251554627)
• Set a $5,000,000.00 bond that Lisa was required to post pursuant to Article 570 of the Judicial Code

Legal Basis

• Article 531(3) and (6) of the Judicial Code — formal admissibility requirements for the precautionary attachment measure and the setting of the bond
• Article 533 of the Judicial Code — supplementary provisions on bonds in precautionary measures
• Article 570 of the Judicial Code — form of bond deposit

Signatories

• Vicente González Coronado, Substitute Judge, 16th Civil Circuit Court, First Judicial Circuit of Panama