ITA: bankruptcy reduces chances of customers being reimbursed – 07/18/2023 – Market

The bankruptcy of ITA (Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos), decreed by Justice on Monday (17), reduces the chances that passengers will be able to recover the lost money, assess bankruptcy experts. In situations like this, corporate clients are at the bottom of the queue of creditors.

ITA suddenly stopped operating in December 2021. The suspension of flights, close to the holidays, affected more than 133,000 passengers. At the time, Itapemirim claimed that it made the decision due to the stoppage of employees of a third-party company.

At the time, hundreds of customers filed complaints through mediation channels, such as Consumidor.gov.br and procons. However, after bankruptcy, the only way to try to get some value back from the company is through the courts.

The injured passenger then needs to look for a lawyer and be qualified as a creditor, who will join a queue of people and entities able to receive debts from the company.

“It is important for the consumer not to delay the judicial measure and look for a lawyer so that the qualification is done as quickly as possible”, says Renata Reis, technical advisor of Procon-SP.

“Sometimes, it can benefit from entering earlier, given the large number of creditors”, explains Reis.

The advisor also points out that customers who seek reimbursement only for amounts paid, such as the ticket, should have it easier. “If the case involves moral damage, for example, the damage will be judged in another case, and the passenger will be able to register as a creditor only after the moral damage process is underway and will then join the queue.

When bankruptcy is declared, the assets of the company in question are sold and the proceeds are used to pay creditors. A court administrator, appointed by the court, is responsible for listing and liquidating available assets.

In the ITA case, the judge appointed Exm Partners as the trustee. The lawyer in charge will be Eduardo Scarpellini. Among the office’s obligations are to deliver a plan within 60 days to meet the company’s commitments. You will also have to present the list of creditors, who have until August 1st to submit claims to Justice.

Bankruptcy rules dictate that former employees of the company be paid first, then government tax debts. Only then do creditors from other categories enter, such as customers, who will only be paid if there are still resources available, coming from the amount generated with the sale of assets.

Procon-SP, for example, assessed ITA in 2022, for non-compliance with a contract, and imposed a fine of BRL 331,000 on the company. The process is still open.

The Itapemirim Group of road transport was declared bankrupt in September 2022 by the Justice of São Paulo. The company’s tax debts amounted to R$ 2.8 billion at the time.

The EXM Partners office also manages the company’s bankrupt estate, which brings together brands such as Viação Itapemirim and Viação Kaissara. Since then, the company’s lines have been operated by Suzantur, from ABC Paulista, under a new company called Viação Nova Itapemirim.

Sidnei Piva de Jesus, who in 2016 bought the car from the founder, Camilo Cola, is being investigated by the Public Ministry on suspicion of embezzling Itapemirim resources to launch the airline. Since then, he has been monitored using an electronic ankle bracelet as determined by judge Luciana Menezes Scorza. The magistrate also removed Piva from the command of the Itapemirim group and ordered the retention of the businessman’s passport.

Bankruptcy experts point out that, given the large amount of debt and probably few assets to be sold, ITA clients will have great difficulty in recovering lost values.

“If you bankrupt a dealership, for example, sell the vehicles and pay the debt. There will always be someone wanting to buy a car, but with airlines, not everyone has the money and appetite to buy a plane”, compares Marcello Marin, Master in Corporate Governance and Director at Spot Finance.

Marin points out that the process can be completed more quickly by having fewer assets available. However, lawsuits from creditors and other parties may delay the process, which has no end date.

The bankruptcy process of the airline Vasp, for example, began in 2008 and has not yet been completed.

“Each debate is very long, it can go through several instances and go up to the STJ (Superior Court of Justice)”, says Miguel Ângelo Cançado, a lawyer who works in bankruptcy.

A Sheet sought the Itapemirim Group through the e-mail address provided on the company’s website, and also the businessman Sidnei Piva, but did not hear back until the publication of this report.