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Court of Justice of São Paulo applies Superior Court of Justice's decision to judicially pledge the debtor's wage
The Superior Court of Justice has flexed a rule that prohibited the judicial pledge of the debtor’s wage. With this decision, debtors who earn less than 50 minimum wages may have their wages pledged.
However, the Superior Court of Justice decision shows that the wage pledge is exceptional. That means that the request for wage pledge should only be granted if all other ordinary forms of judicial pledges failed.
In some state courts, the Superior Court of Justice precedent has already been applied.
In Court of Justice of São Paulo, a decision that had denied the attachment of 30% of a debtor’s wage was reversed. The main reasoning of the judges is that the debtor cannot be protected to prevent the satisfaction of the credit, the attachment being justifiable, if it does not harm the subsistence of the debtor.
In another case, this one from the 30th Chamber of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, it was determined the judicial pledge of 10% of the wage of a debtor who holds a debt with the Fundação São Paulo, the keeper of the Pontifical University of São Paulo.
Despite that, this application has not been universally used in the courts, as other chambers have also chosen to deny requests for wage pledge.
Thus, now the creditor has the possibility of settling his claim by pledging debtor’s wage. However, the creditor has the burden of proving that even with the attachment of a certain percentage, the debtor’s salary will still be sufficient to support him and his family.
Our Litigation team remains at your disposal for any questions you may have on the subject.
