/ San Miguel Court of Appeals Rejects Bank’s Request for Forced Liquidation of Agricultural Company

The San Miguel Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that the forced liquidation of the agricultural company Bajos de Matte S.A., requested by Rabofinance Chile, a subsidiary of Rabobank, was inadmissible. The ruling affirmed the decision of the Second Civil Court of Buin, which accepted the company’s defense against payment and dismissed the lawsuit.

Rabofinance based its action on an alleged default on a loan installment, which it claimed had triggered acceleration clauses and increased the debt to more than USD 8 million. The defense demonstrated that there were no outstanding obligations and that payment had been made prior to the request, with the bank’s express acceptance, including interest for the extension period.

The court concluded that acceptance of the payment constituted a tacit waiver of the acceleration clause, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s case law. Thus, the grounds for default invoked by the financial institution were dismissed.

The agricultural company was represented by Raúl Montero, partner, and Luis Fuentes, director of the litigation and arbitration practice at Alessandri Abogados.