Post by xyz3600 on Feb 25, 2024 4:21:59 GMT -5
Contractual legal fees constitute material damages subject to compensation, pursuant to arts. 389, 395 and 404 of the Civil Code. Based on this understanding of the rapporteur, judge Alexandre Marcondes, the 2nd Chamber of Business Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo included legal fees in compensation to be paid by a language school franchisor to a franchisee, due to contractual termination. In his vote, the judge cited the jurisprudence of the Superior Court of Justice that the costs of hiring a lawyer to file a lawsuit or for defense in court do not constitute compensable material damages, but said he thought otherwise. He was accompanied by the other members of the judging panel. In addition to the contractual fees, the franchisor was ordered to refund the rent paid for the property where the school would be installed, and the amounts spent on renovating the location and opening and closing the legal entity.
The judges understood that the franchisor was solely to blame for the end of the contract. The school never even opened, because it was unable to obtain a permit from the City Hall. For the 2nd Chamber, the franchisor acted decisively in choosing the location of the school, which did not meet the necessary requirements for granting the operating license. "The behavior of the employees (of the franchisor) confirms the defendant's guilt in Middle East Mobile Number List the inadequate choice of the property. The franchisor chose to act more incisively in the choice of the property, even though the contract exempted it from this obligation", stated the rapporteur. Without a license, the contract was broken and the franchisees took legal action. The first degree court decided on concurrent guilt. The TJ-SP, however, held only the franchisor responsible for the losses resulting from the failure of the business.
The court also ordered the company to pay compensation of R$10,000 for moral damages. According to Alexandre Marcondes, the franchisees “had great expectations in establishing the franchise and, due to inadequate support received from the defendant, they found themselves frustrated in their attempt, even though they had fulfilled all their obligations. This is not a mere day-to-day inconvenience, but rather a serious contractual breach subject to compensation for non-pecuniary damage 50 of the Civil Code, hence why, in this case, it is necessary to initiate the incident of disregarding the personality of the debtor legal entity”, since “the mere fact of being part of an economic group does not make a legal entity responsible for taxes unpaid by others.
The judges understood that the franchisor was solely to blame for the end of the contract. The school never even opened, because it was unable to obtain a permit from the City Hall. For the 2nd Chamber, the franchisor acted decisively in choosing the location of the school, which did not meet the necessary requirements for granting the operating license. "The behavior of the employees (of the franchisor) confirms the defendant's guilt in Middle East Mobile Number List the inadequate choice of the property. The franchisor chose to act more incisively in the choice of the property, even though the contract exempted it from this obligation", stated the rapporteur. Without a license, the contract was broken and the franchisees took legal action. The first degree court decided on concurrent guilt. The TJ-SP, however, held only the franchisor responsible for the losses resulting from the failure of the business.
The court also ordered the company to pay compensation of R$10,000 for moral damages. According to Alexandre Marcondes, the franchisees “had great expectations in establishing the franchise and, due to inadequate support received from the defendant, they found themselves frustrated in their attempt, even though they had fulfilled all their obligations. This is not a mere day-to-day inconvenience, but rather a serious contractual breach subject to compensation for non-pecuniary damage 50 of the Civil Code, hence why, in this case, it is necessary to initiate the incident of disregarding the personality of the debtor legal entity”, since “the mere fact of being part of an economic group does not make a legal entity responsible for taxes unpaid by others.