Appeal: Lisa appealed unjust ruling dismissing case

On February 19, 2025, Lisa, S.A. filed an appeal before the First Superior Tribunal of Panama against Sentencia No. 71, issued on January 31, 2025, by the Sixteenth Civil Court. The judgment dismissed Lisa’s proceso sumario de rendición de cuentas against Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez and imposed $40,000 in legal costs. In its appeal, Lisa argues that the lower court committed multiple legal errors, including failure to apply the binding 2022 appellate decision that had reversed an earlier inadmissibility ruling and confirmed that Lisa had standing to demand an accounting from Bosch, who had been appointed judicial depositary of over $44.9 million in retained dividends.

The appeal also challenges the trial court’s rejection of BDT Investments Inc.’s request to intervene as a third party, despite record evidence that BDT is the assignee of Lisa’s claims. Lisa further argues that the lower court misapplied the procedure governing procesos especiales de rendición de cuentas, particularly Article 1380 of the Judicial Code, by allowing a standard answer to the claim instead of requiring the defendant to render the account. Additionally, Lisa contends that the imposition of costs lacked proper justification under Articles 1071–1072 of the Judicial Code, which require an analysis of good or bad faith before awarding costs. Lisa requests full reversal of the judgment and correction of these procedural and substantive defects.