Amparo Ruling: Confirms rejection of dividend prescription claim by Las Margaritas

On February 28, 2020, the Eighth Civil Court of First Instance of Guatemala rejected the ordinary lawsuit filed by Compraventa de Productos Alimenticios, S.A. (later merged into Avícola Las Margaritas, S.A.) seeking to extinguish Lisa, S.A.’s dividend rights through prescripción extintiva. That decision was upheld on December 1, 2020 by the Fifth Civil and Commercial Court of Appeals, and on August 11, 2021 the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court refused to admit a cassation appeal.

On September 13, 2022, the Constitutional Court declared “notoriamente improcedente” the amparo filed by Avícola Las Margaritas against the Supreme Court’s refusal to admit cassation. This dismissal left the trial court’s February 2020 rejection fully intact and binding. The ruling also imposed a Q1,000 fine on the sponsoring attorney. The result is a definitive judicial confirmation of Lisa, S.A.’s position that the dividend payment claims cannot be extinguished through prescripción.