Mexican Civil & Commercial Legal Proceedings

Transcription

1 Mexican Civil & Commercial Legal Proceedings

2 Commercial Litigation Subject matter governed by Commerce Code. Suit brought by at least one commercial party. Suit based on a commercial activity such as a business K, commercial invoices, commercial paper, bank loans or financial operations, or similar. Suit may be executive, ordinary or oral. May be heard by State Trial Court or Federal District Courts

3 Executive Commercial Trial (Juicio Ejecutivo Mercantil) Suit MUST rest on any of the following (Commercial Paper) : 1. Check 2. Promissory Note 3. Certified acknowledgement of debt before a Notary Public or a Commercial Public Broker 4. Formally acknowledged commercial invoices 5. Settlement agreements executed before a Notary Public showing a debt payable on demand Upon initial service of process Plaintiff can repossess Defendant s property, such as goods or funds held at bank accounts. A depository needs to be appointed to take care of the repossessed assets.

4 Ordinary Commercial Trial (Juicio Ordinario Mercantil) Any commercial trial not based on executive commercial documents (i.e.) Unpaid commercial invoices Contractual related actions (Nullity, Specific Performance, Rescission) Insurance claims (Payment denial or Enforcement of Policy) Follows fairly similar stages as executive/summary trials but for the repossess option at service of process and slightly longer deadlines.

5 Commercial Process (Executive and Ordinary) Suit has to be filed with all supporting evidence from day one. Failure to properly bearing that burden will result in dismissal of evidence presented, unless it is supervening evidence. Upon service of process (either with repossess option in executive trials or without it in ordinary trials) Defendant has 9 days (oral process), 15 days (ordinary process), or 8 days (executive process) to answer the complaint. Al supporting evidence must be filled together with the answer. Procedural defenses Affirmative substantive defenses Counterclaim Join 3rd parties Once complaint has been answered the Parties are granted 10 business days to file a writ offering their evidence. In general, the parties have 30 days to produce their evidence: Parties deposition Witness testimony Expert testimony Reports by third parties Once evidentiary stage is over, the Parties have 3 days to produce closing arguments Judgment is pronounced

6 Appeal Process During the process Parties may file Precautionary Appeals against most Trial Court Orders Comprehensive Appellate Brief is not needed. Only a formal request and identification of the contested order. Appellate Brief should be filed at the end of the trial, together with the Final Appeal if any. Some specific Trial Court Orders may be fully contested during the process. In this case comprehensive Appellate Brief is mandatory. Court order dismissing the complaint Court order granting or dismissing procedural orders Court orders staying the process Final appeal may be filed against judgment in any case worth over $574, Filed before Trial Court Comprehensive appellate brief is mandatory Comprehensive appellate briefs for all Precautionary Appeals filed during the process are mandatory Counterparty may answer Appellate Briefs

7 Oral Commercial Trial Mandatory proceedings for any commercial case worth under $574, Bench Trial (NO JURY) Parties must present all their supporting evidence and offer all their evidence in the complaint or in the answer to the complaint. Plaintiff may file a reply to the answer to the complaint Preliminary Hearing or Pretrial Conference Procedural defenses are addressed and adjudicated at this stage Mediation by the judge is strongly encouraged Scope of trial is set and the dispute is narrowed by the judge Evidence presented by the parties is then admitted and a date set for trial Trial hearing Parties evidence is presented Closing arguments Judgment hearing Judgment is not subject to ordinary appeal but is subject to an extraordinary remedy on due process grounds (Amparo Suit)

8 Appeal Process Trial Court send trial case and Appellate Briefs to Court of Appeals. Court of Appeals adjudicates the case based on the briefs previously filed by the Parties. No evidence may be presented. Judgment rendered by the local Court of Appeals (State or Federal) is subject to an extraordinary federal appeal known as Juicio de Amparo Directo (Direct Amparo Suit) which is a claim filed on constitutional due process grounds

9 Direct Amparo Suit May be filed to contest any final order that ordinarily ends a civil or commercial action May be filed against judgments rendered by a Court of Appeals in re a Trial Court judgment It is filed before the Court of Appeals within 15 days after contested judgment is rendered Comprehensive brief raising due process concerns is mandatory Court of Appeals sends the case file and brief to the local Circuit's Joint Tribunal 3 Judge Panel Depending on the Circuit, Tribunal may be specialized in Criminal, Civil, Administrative or Labor fields Tribunal adjudicates the case on due process grounds based on the briefs previously filed by the Parties. No evidence may be presented. Highest federal court in the Country for most day to day trials. (Some very specific cases may reach the Supreme Court of Justice on very limited grounds). Case may be adjudicated by majority or unanimously. If relief is granted, case is remanded to the Court of Appeals.