American women x worker: debt is at least 2 times higher – 02/21/2023 – Market

In the rush to present its request for judicial recovery, in order to escape the blocking of resources by creditor banks, Americanas included only part of its labor debts. The request contains R$ 119.6 million to be paid to class 1. The amount includes 321 workers and entities, according to data compiled by Dieese (Interunion Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies).

But, according to a survey carried out by Data Lawyer –a platform that allows analysis of statistical data in relation to lawsuits (jurimetry)–, carried out at the request of the Sheet, there are currently at least 2,331 active lawsuits against Americanas in the Labor Court. The total value of the lawsuits is R$ 284.3 million – 138% higher than the amount reserved by Americanas for labor debts included in the judicial recovery.

Data Lawyer’s research pointed out that, since 2014 (beginning of the platform’s database), there have been 5,445 lawsuits, in the total amount of BRL 534.6 million. Of these, 2,331 shares are active, totaling R$284.3 million.

The survey, based on the CNPJ (National Register of Legal Entities), considered the registrations of Americanas SA (00.776.574/0006-60) and ST Importações Ltda. (02.867.220/0001-42), both mentioned in the decision of the 4th Business Court of the Judicial District of Rio de Janeiro, which granted the company’s judicial recovery on January 19, when Americanas declared debts of R$ 43 billion.

According to Data Lawyer, the survey covers only non-confidential processes.

Union action lists debts of R$ 1.53 billion

In January, a lawsuit filed by the LBS Advogados law firm, on behalf of eight union entities (among them, União Geral dos Trabalhadores and Força Sindical), together with the TRT-10 (Regional Labor Court of the 10th Region), defended the blocking of the amount of BRL 1.53 billion from the assets of Americanas’ main shareholders – the billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Beto Sicupira. The objective was to guarantee the credits of labor lawsuits against the retailer in progress in the Labor Court.

The injunction was denied, but the trade union centrals are appealing.

In the lawsuit, LBS Advogados claims to have carried out a survey on the Data Lawyer platform on January 20 and to have identified 16,980 pending lawsuits, which encompass a potential value of R$ 1.53 billion.

“The survey was carried out based on the CNPJ root of all companies in the group identified as directly and indirectly controlled by Americanas SA in the Standardized Financial Statements (DFP) for December 31, 2021. All of them have more than 99.9% interest da Americanas SA In addition to these companies, we include the CNPJ root of Lojas Americanas, recently incorporated by the group”, say in the action the lawyers of the trade union centrals.

“We searched the Data Lawyer for the CNPJ of each of the companies in the group,” he told Sheet José Eymard Loguercio, partner at LBS Advogados. “In the Judiciary system, there are still processes under way under Lojas Americanas”, he says, referring to the company that brought together the physical stores, before the merger in 2021 with B2W (digital operations), which gave rise to Americanas SA

On the night of February 16, Americanas disclosed a material fact in which it claims to be willing to pay labor debts (class 1) and with micro and small suppliers (class 4) included in the judicial recovery, whose sum reaches R$ 192 .4 million.

“The companies under reorganization informed the Joint Judicial Administration that the net credits of classes 1 and 4 add up, so far, to the approximate amount of BRL 192.4 million, according to the list of creditors presented by the company, and that the company is able to promote the short-term full payment of this amount with part of the resources already obtained and to be obtained with the DIP financing authorized in the judicial recovery, without relevant impact on its cash flow”, says the statement, signed by Camille Loyo Faria, the new director financial and investor relations at Americanas, which he took over this month.

“The company and the other debtors expressed their concern about the situation of the labor creditors, given the food nature of the funds securitized by these creditors, which, due to their history, contributed to the growth of the company and other debtors”, says the material fact.

questioned by Sheet regarding the number of lawsuits against the company pending in the Labor Court, Americanas did not respond until the publication of this text.

Through its press office, the retailer informed only the creditors included in the request for judicial recovery. According to the company, there are “650 creditors in class 4, totaling R$72.8 million. .6 million”.

Among the creditors, a deceased executive, bar and bakeries

Among the 321 employees or entities on the list of labor creditors, there are individuals, law firms and unions, points out the Dieese survey.

Creditors with more than R$ 1 million to receive include two unions and three law firms. In the union sphere, there are the Union of Employees in Commerce of Guarulhos and the Union of Employees in Commerce of the State of Espírito Santo, with R$ 2.1 million to be received each.

Among the firms are Dannemann Siemsen Advogados (R$ 1.3 million), Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Advogados (R$ 2.7 million), Vezzi, Lapolla e Mesquita Sociedade de Advogados (R$ 3.3 million) and Ensemhuber , Abe e Advogados Associados (R$ 6.8 million).

The biggest creditor on this list is the estate of Henrique Kerti, who was an executive at the company in the 1970s and 1980s, with R$7.6 million to be received. The amounts have been discussed in court in labor lawsuits for at least ten years, according to information compiled by the Jusbrasil website.

A Sheet tried to contact Kerti’s estate lawyers, but without success.

In the list of small and medium-sized companies, Dieese indicates 959 creditors with amounts receivable between R$ 10 and R$ 26.4 million – the latter is the amount owed to the distributor of computer products Ingram. These creditors are both class 4 (MPE) and class 3 (unsecured, without real guarantees).

In the list of suppliers, there are from product manufacturers to service providers, such as vehicle leasing. There are also bakeries and food producers.

In this list, 17 creditors have more than R$ 1 million to receive each. On the other hand, 55 have less than R$100 each in credits.

This is the case of Bar Cantinho da Vila Ltda., in Vila Isabel, in the north of Rio, with R$ 20 to be received. Or Pão de Batata Pães Especiais Ltda., from Diadema, in Greater São Paulo, to whom Americanas owes R$9.29.