The Third Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) has ruled that, for bankruptcies decreed before Law 14.112/2020 came into force, the three-year period for filing claims must be counted from the date the new law comes into force. Thus, the deadline for filing claims in bankruptcies prior to the change in the law should begin on January 23, 2021.
Three-year deadline and the inclusion of claims in bankruptcies prior to the new Judicial Reorganization and Bankruptcy Law
This ruling allowed a creditor to include labor claims amounting to R$31.3 thousand in the bankruptcy of a glass distribution company.
This decision is important because, before Law No. 14.112/2020, which made significant changes to Law No. 11.101/2005, there was no clear limit for making claims. In other words, it was possible to make these requests until the end of the bankruptcy proceedings.
With the creation of Law n. 14.112/2020, paragraph 10 was introduced into article 10 of Law n. 11.101/2005, which established a deadline of three years from the date on which the bankruptcy was decreed, for filing claims and requests for reservation of credit, under penalty of forfeiture.
Impact of the new interpretation on previous bankruptcies
In the case in question, the labor claim was settled by judgment in June 2002, while the company was declared bankrupt in October 2002. However, the claim was only filed in August 2021.
When analyzing the case, the São Paulo Court of Justice (“TJSP”) interpreted that the three-year period for filing claims in bankruptcy had already expired, as it considered that the changes in Law 14.112/2020 would have immediate application in all cases.
Justice Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, Rapporteur of the appeal in the STJ, considered that when bankruptcy was decreed before the current law came into force, the initial deadline for claims cannot lead to the elimination of the right itself:
“In other words, with the new law in force, the holder’s right would be automatically extinguished by decay, eliminating the possibility of its exercise, thus affecting a right acquired under the previous law,” he said.
The Justice determined that the three-year period provided for in paragraph 10 of article 10 of Law 11.101/2005 would begin on the date that Law 14.112/2020 came into force, i.e. January 23, 2021. In this way, it proved possible for the claim to be approved in the case under discussion, given that it was made in 2021.
