Claims Over Dividend Prescription by Compraventa de Productos Alimenticios
C. 01044-2018-00313 • Eighth Civil Court • Guatemala
Claims Over Dividend Prescription by Compraventa de Productos Alimenticios
This is an ordinary civil lawsuit filed by Compraventa de Productos Alimenticios, S.A. (later merged into Avícola Las Margaritas, S.A.) against Lisa, S.A. The plaintiff sought to extinguish Lisa’s dividend rights from the 2012 shareholders’ meeting through extinctive prescription.
Decisions
Whether Lisa’s dividend rights from the 2012 assembly had prescribed after five years.
The court rejected the lawsuit (“sin lugar la demanda de prescripción extintiva”).
Lisa’s dividend rights were upheld at trial.
Court dismissed dividend case by Compraventa
Whether the trial court erred in rejecting the prescription claim.
The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal and confirmed the lower court’s decision rejecting the prescription claim.
Lisa’s trial victory was maintained.
Cassation appeal filed by Avícola Las Margaritas.
The Supreme Court refused to admit the cassation, leaving the appellate ruling intact.
The appellate confirmation became final in ordinary jurisdiction.
Amparo filed by Avícola Las Margaritas against the Civil Chamber’s refusal to admit cassation.
The Constitutional Court declared the amparo “notoriously inadmissible” and fined Avícola’s counsel Q.1,000.
The trial judgment rejecting prescription (Feb 2020) remained firm and binding.
Confirms rejection of dividend prescription claim by Las Margaritas
Conclusion
Lisa, S.A. prevailed at every stage. The trial court rejected Compraventa’s (later Avícola Las Margaritas’) attempt to extinguish dividend rights through prescription. That ruling was confirmed on appeal, cassation was refused, and amparo was denied. This outcome is a definitive judicial confirmation that Lisa’s dividend claims cannot be extinguished by prescription, reinforcing its shareholder rights against the Avícola companies.