The Rio de Janeiro State Court (TJ-RJ) has once again suspended the rights of Eagle Bidco in Botafogo’s SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol). The decision overturned a preliminary injunction from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) Arbitration Tribunal that had reinstated the company’s participation.
The ruling came from the 2nd Business Court of the Capital after a request by Botafogo’s SAF, represented by Salomão Advogados. The annulment action sought an injunction to freeze the arbitration decision, followed by a permanent nullification of what was determined by the arbitration panel.
The plaintiff’s argument was that the arbitration order failed to provide an opportunity for adversarial proceedings, exceeded the scope of the arbitration panel’s authority, and violated the jurisdiction of the judge overseeing the SAF’s judicial reorganization process.
The TJ-RJ granted the injunction, suspending the effects of the arbitration until a final ruling on the annulment action. This effectively revokes Eagle Bidco’s rights once again.
Judge Marcelo Mondego de Carvalho Lima also upheld previous court decisions, which keep Durcésio Mello as manager of the SAF. Additionally, a monitoring commitment was established for the Extraordinary General Assembly scheduled for May 14.
Carvalho Lima’s decision pointed to the risk of irreparable harm if Eagle were to reassume management of the SAF and conduct processes detrimental to the company’s interests. The judge further argued that the Arbitration Tribunal lacks the competence to modify or revoke decisions rendered in the judicial reorganization process, and that the arbitration decision had been final without proper adversarial proceedings.
As a result, the referral of the matter to the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has been suspended. That referral had been ordered by the Arbitration Tribunal.
