By: Vitor Antony Ferrari and Ivan Kubala.

It is not uncommon for a creditor to find themselves involved in a judicial recovery process, but, given the peculiarities of the procedure provided for in Law No. 11,101/05, they do not know exactly how to act, which can result in the loss of important deadlines, such as those related to the discussion of the credit they have with the specific company that is undergoing recovery. This scenario normally occurs when the creditor is not assisted by a lawyer, but it is also very common with those who have lawyers who are not familiar with the judicial recovery procedure.

Discussions involving credits are certainly the most relevant to creditors, which is why it is important to be aware of the procedures provided for in the Bankruptcy and Judicial Reorganization Law, under penalty of losing their rights. Therefore, it is necessary to keep in mind that there are two moments in which creditors can discuss the value, classification or even the subjection of their credit to the judicial recovery process.

The first stage begins after the publication of the list of creditors presented by the company undergoing judicial recovery and is provided for in Article 7, paragraph 1, of Law No. 11,101/05. From this moment on, the creditor, whether or not listed, may, within 15 days, submit to the Judicial Administrator a request for qualification (if his/her credit has not been included in the list) or a request for divergence, if he/she wishes to discuss the value, classification or other issues related to his/her credit. It is important to note that this first tool is not addressed to the Judge of the case, that is, it is not presented in the judicial recovery process, but directly to the Judicial Administrator, in an administrative manner, either by email or another form that is established. Many creditors submit their requests directly to the Judge, which are denied due to the inadequacy of the procedure, which may result in the loss of the legal deadline. The second stage begins with the publication of the list of creditors presented by the Judicial Administrator, which is also published for the knowledge of all creditors, and

is provided for in art. 8 of Law 11,101/05. From the publication of this second list of creditors, they will have a period of 10 days to present their objection, through which they will also be able to discuss issues related to their respective credit. In this second moment, however, the request is presented to the Judge of the judicial recovery process and will receive a statement from the Judicial Administrator and the company in judicial recovery, after which it will be assessed by the judge.

What if the creditor lets both deadlines elapse and does not file a qualification/disagreement, nor a credit challenge? Before the reform promoted by the approval of Law No. 14.112/20, the law provided for the possibility of filing a late qualification and, over time, doctrine and case law established an understanding of admitting the figure of a late challenge, although the subject still generated debates among legal practitioners. With the changes promoted by the aforementioned law, it seems that both qualification and late credit challenge began to be admitted, as can be inferred from art. 10, paragraphs 7 and 8, of Law No. 11.101/05. It turns out that the flexibility of the opportune moment to present the aforementioned documents contradicts the very provision of the law and, even with the advent of the new legislation, still generates much debate, mainly in the jurisprudential sphere, which is why it is important for the creditor to be aware of the deadlines and procedures provided for in the Judicial Recovery Law, in order to ensure that their claims are duly and timely analyzed.