On August 9, 2023, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) recognized the existence of a general repercussion and constitutional matter in the Extraordinary Appeal No. 1,412,069/PR, filed by the Union. It discusses the fixation of attorney fees based on equity in cases of significant value involving the Public Treasury.
The controversy will be resolved in Theme 1,255. The Union brought the matter for consideration by the STF after the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) established the following thesis in the Repetitive Theme No. 1,076, in March 2022: ” i) The fixation of fees by equitable assessment is not allowed when the values of the condemnation, the cause, or the economic benefit of the lawsuit are high. In these cases, compliance with the percentages provided for in §§ 2 or 3 of Article 85 of the CPC is mandatory – depending on the presence of the Public Treasury in the dispute – which will be subsequently calculated on the value: (a) of the condemnation; or (b) of the economic benefit obtained; or (c) of the updated value of the cause. ii) The arbitration of fees based on equity is only allowed when, with or without condemnation: (a) the economic benefit obtained by the winner is invaluable or negligible; or (b) the value of the cause is very low.”
It is still undetermined whether the STF will maintain or not the STJ’s understanding on the matter, and whether the interpretation will be the same regardless of whether the debtor of attorney fees is private or the Public Treasury.