Dec 5 2018
11th Civil Court
The $894,718.00 judgment against Lisa, S.A. imposed by <doc id="pty-556-99-2008-07-11-a" />, as modified by the First Superior Tribunal's <doc id="pty-556-99-2012-08-28-a" /> of August 28, 2012, entered its enforcement phase in the high-value ordinary proceeding, <law id="pty-556-99" />, under the decree of Order No. 1723-16 of September 7, 2016, which elevated the prior sequestration to an attachment. With enforcement opened, the parties filed incompatible petitions. Villamorey, S.A., through its counsel Galindo, Arias & López, sought auction of Lisa, S.A.'s share certificates in the Guatemalan companies listed in the attachment order. Lisa, S.A. requested that the judgment be satisfied from dividends Villamorey had retained as judicial depositary since the sequestration decreed by <doc id="pty-556-99-2008-10-27-a" /> on October 27, 2008.
Sufficiency of retained dividends. The judge found that dividends retained by Villamorey, S.A. since November 2008, placed at the court's disposal per the <doc id="pty-556-99-2008-11-25-a" /> of November 25, 2008, exceeded the enforceable amount of $894,718.00 by a substantial margin, rendering a share auction unnecessary.
Parallel BDT Investments, Inc. enforcement. The court took judicial notice of a parallel enforcement proceeding in the Twelfth Circuit Civil Court, <law id="pty-31638-12" />, in which BDT Investments, Inc. holds an attachment against Lisa, S.A. for $19,184,680.00. Rather than obstructing the set-off, this circumstance supported it: Villamorey, S.A. held priority by virtue of its earlier precautionary measure, and satisfying its smaller debt through set-off would not prejudice BDT's position. The Twelfth Court would simply need to adjust its enforcement accordingly.
Practical effect. The set-off extinguished the judgment without liquidating Lisa, S.A.'s shareholdings in the seven Guatemalan subsidiaries of the Avícola Villalobos group, preserving assets whose value far exceeded the judgment amount.