In recent years, several lawsuits have been filed by real estate purchasers seeking to rescind sale and purchase agreements that contain a chattel mortgage. In such lawsuits, conflicting court decisions have been issued on the matter, at times accepting the buyers' arguments on the applicability of the Consumer Protection Code and the possibility of a decree rescinding the contract, ignoring the existing in rem guarantee; and at other times ruling out the application of the Consumer Protection Code, favoring the applicability of a specific law (in this case, Law no. 9.514/1997 - the Fiduciary Alienation Law).
This divergence generates enormous legal insecurity and puts at risk the institute of fiduciary alienation, a fundamental mechanism to enable access to credit and the purchase of real estate.
Recently, the 2nd Section of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) assigned Special Appeals Nos. 1.891.498 and 1.894.504 to the Repetitive Appeal system, determining that all proceedings with an identical subject matter to the affected legal issue be stayed until the appeal is decided.
By assigning this matter to be judged in Repetitive Appeal Proceedings, the STJ seeks to standardize the understanding within the Judiciary and pacify the decisions rendered in state courts.
We continue to follow the judgment of the Repetitive Appeal and its developments.
BTLAW's Real Estate team is on hand to address the issue - [email protected] and [email protected].
