Appeal Ruling: Appeals court confirmed contempt ruling

On October 25, 2022, the First Superior Tribunal of the First Judicial District of Panama confirmed the contempt order issued against Villamorey, S.A. in Auto No. 463/14606-21. The order was originally issued on April 8, 2022, by the Fourth Civil Circuit Court in response to Villamorey’s failure to comply with the court’s mandate to render accounts, as previously ordered in Auto No. 283. The court had given Villamorey one month to comply, but no evidence of compliance was presented.

Although the appeals court acknowledged that contempt is not the standard remedy in a summary accounting proceeding and that Article 1383 of the Judicial Code provides for a different mechanism (monetary execution based on estimated damages), it still upheld the contempt ruling due to Villamorey's continued non-compliance. The Tribunal dismissed Villamorey's procedural objections and affirmed that the failure to render accounts justified the sanctions imposed by the lower court.