In October 2022, by a narrow majority, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) revised the legal thesis established under Precedent No. 677, significantly changing the legal effects of judicial deposits and the attachment of financial assets in enforcement proceedings and judgment enforcement.
Under the new wording, deposits made as security for the court or resulting from the attachment of financial assets do not extinguish the debtor’s default. Interest and monetary adjustment provided for in the enforceable title continue to accrue until the funds are effectively released to the creditor, with the earnings of the judicial account serving only as a future offset. This represents a departure from the 2014 understanding, under which judicial deposits were deemed sufficient to extinguish the obligation within the deposited amount.
Following the revision, only voluntary deposits made with the purpose of immediately satisfying the creditor, without any dispute over the withdrawal of funds, are capable of interrupting default. The STJ justified the change, among other reasons, by pointing to the discrepancy between the correction applied by financial institutions to judicial accounts and the interest and adjustment rates typically applicable under contractual or legal standards.
The new interpretation has a direct impact on the management of judicial contingencies for both creditors and debtors. Amounts previously considered sufficient to secure enforcement no longer prevent the continued accrual of interest and monetary adjustment, potentially resulting in significant outstanding balances over time. As a result, traditional procedural strategies, such as judicial deposits to stay enforcement, must be reassessed.
The article also highlights concerns regarding legal certainty, particularly due to the absence of any modulation of the decision’s effects and the revision of a long-standing precedent. The change requires immediate adaptation by the parties and reinforces the need to revisit strategies adopted under the former understanding.
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