Order: Court referred dividend claim to arbitration by Torre Nova

On September 13, 2024, the Sixth Civil Court of First Instance ruled that it lacks jurisdiction to hear the dividend prescription lawsuit filed by Inversiones Torre Nova, S.A. against Lisa, S.A. The court accepted the preliminary exception raised by Lisa, S.A., which pointed to a binding arbitration clause in the 1999 corporate charter of Torre Nova. This clause required that any disputes between shareholders or between shareholders and the company be resolved through equity arbitration, as outlined in Guatemalan arbitration law.

Because the case concerned unpaid dividends arising from shareholder relations governed by that charter, the court held that the dispute must be resolved by an arbitration tribunal and not the ordinary civil courts. Consequently, the court did not consider the second procedural objection—whether Torre Nova lacked the legal conditions to bring the claim. Torre Nova was ordered to pay legal costs for filing in the wrong venue.