TOPIC 1.169 OF THE STJ: THE NECESSITY OF PRIOR LIQUIDATION AS AN INDISPENSABLE REQUIREMENT FOR THE EXECUTION OF A GENERIC COLLECTIVE JUDGMENT

Abstract

STJ's Topic 1.169, yet to be definitively judged, seeks to resolve the controversy regarding the necessity of prior liquidation as an indispensable requirement for the enforcement of a generic condemnatory judgment in a class action lawsuit when the calculation of the amount due depends on simple arithmetic calculations. It is observed that Regional Courts have dismissed some enforcement proceedings because the case files, in the enforcement phase, had not undergone prior liquidation, a fact that, according to the appealed Decisions, would prevent the proceeding of the enforcement and lead to the extinction of the case. Thus, this work starts from the hypothesis that making liquidation indispensable when the calculation of the amount due results from simple arithmetic calculations is a setback to the Brazilian legal process, harming the rights of litigants and making the Judiciary even slower, a hypothesis that is tested through the hypothetical-deductive method. The collective judgment and the procedure for liquidating a collective judgment are briefly analyzed, followed by a discussion on the high rate of litigation that justifies the sluggishness of the Brazilian procedural system.