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The thesis establishes that interest accrues until the account is closed or the balance is zero, with proof to be provided by the depositary bank.

From the Editors

 

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

 

Updated at 10:59

 

The 2nd section of the STJ has set, under the system of repetitive appeals, the final term for the incidence of remunerative interest in actions for inflationary purges in savings accounts. The decision, linked to Theme 1,101, defined that interest is applied until the date of closure of the account or the moment in which it starts to have a zero balance - whichever occurs first.

 

The responsibility for proving these dates will lie with the depositary bank. If this is not possible, the ministers determined that the final date will be the date of the citation in the public civil action that gave rise to the enforcement of the judgment.

 

The decision significantly affects the legal and economic scenario, since inflationary purges involve thousands of lawsuits and significant amounts. In 2019 alone, more than two thousand admissibility examinations related to the topic were carried out by the STJ.

 

Inflationary purges

 

Inflationary purges refer to the replacement of amounts that were no longer credited to savings accounts during economic plans implemented in the 1980s and 1990s.

 

These plans adjusted the monetary correction rates in a way that disregarded part of the accumulated inflation, generating losses for savers. The replacement of the amounts, through collective and individual actions, aims to correct these losses.

 

 

 

2nd section established the thesis establishing that the term for interest in inflationary purge actions. (Image: Pedro Ladeira/Folhapress)

The rapporteur, Minister Raul Araújo, initially proposed the following thesis:

 

As long as expressly provided for in the collective judgment that determines the recomposition of purged inflation indexes, the final term for the incidence of remunerative interest on the portion of the savings account resulting from the recomposition of the purged index is the date of closure of the account or the date on which it has a zero balance - whichever occurs first.

 

Justice Nancy Andrighi, in a dissenting vote, suggested that a section be added to the thesis to resolve who will be responsible for proving the date on which the account was zeroed or closed. The justice also questioned what would be done if such proof became impossible.

 

So, he suggested adding a second topic to the thesis:

 

It is up to the depositary bank to prove these dates, under penalty of adopting as the final date the date of the citation in the public civil action that gave rise to the enforcement of the judgment.

 

Although the rapporteur was against the addition, the panel, by 4 to 3, adopted the complement.

 

Proceedings : REsp 1,877,280 and REsp 1,877,300

 o link: https://www.migalhas.com.br/quentes/421386/stj-fixa-termo-final-para-juros-em-acoes-de-expurgos-inflacionarios