Order 2277: Court ordered payment from Lisa’s retained dividends

On December 5, 2018, the Eleventh Civil Court of Panama issued Order No. 2277-2018, rejecting Villamorey, S.A.’s request to auction shares belonging to Lisa, S.A. and instead ordered that the $894,718 judgment be satisfied from dividends retained by Villamorey since 2008. The court emphasized that these withheld dividends, related to Lisa’s 33.3% stake in Villamorey, “far exceeded” the judgment amount and had been available for payment since at least November 2008.

The court further clarified that although Villamorey held priority collection rights over other creditors—such as BDT Investment Inc., which had a $19.18 million embargo on Lisa’s dividends in the Twelfth Civil Court—those priority rights had been fully exercised by this payment. As a result, no embargo balance remained in Villamorey’s favor, clearing the way for BDT’s enforcement process. The court formally denied the auction request, closed the enforcement phase, and instructed the Twelfth Court to update its records accordingly.