Tatiane Bagagí Faria
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
In a recent decision, the 3rd Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered the construction company and the developer to pay compensation, jointly and severally, to the buyers of a commercial property due to a delay in the delivery of the property.
In the case in question, the buyers filed an action for damages against the developer of the real estate project and the construction company responsible for carrying out the work, seeking to have the companies ordered to pay compensation for loss of profits and emergent damages, as well as damages of a moral nature, resulting from the delay in the planned delivery of the property.
At first instance, the companies were ordered jointly and severally – in other words, both are individually liable for the full amount of the judgment – to compensate the buyers.
The companies appealed to the São Paulo State Court of Justice, which, in turn, dismissed the condemnation for payment of consequential damages, as well as recognizing the absence of civil liability on the part of the construction company, given that it terminated its relationship with the developer before the property was due to be delivered to the buyers.
In the STJ, the decision of the São Paulo State Court of Justice was overturned, recognizing liability for all the damages suffered by the buyers, restoring the lower court ruling. In addition, the STJ recognized the joint and several liability of the companies for the damages caused to the buyers, regardless of the termination of the construction company with the developer, due to the consumer relationship between the parties, attracting the application of the Consumer Protection Code in the case, based on which both the construction company and the developer were framed as members of the service provision chain for liability purposes.
Marcos Martins Advogados is attentive to new developments in real estate law, in order to provide adequate and effective advice to our clients.
