Business & Commercial Litigation in Brazil
When a business dispute in Brazil lands on a foreign company — a supplier who didn’t deliver, a partner who walked away, an unpaid debt, a lawsuit served out of nowhere — the hard part is rarely the merits. It’s the distance: a civil-law system that works differently from the one you know, a different language, and courts you can’t navigate from abroad. Oliveira Lawyers represents foreign companies, investors, and their Brazilian subsidiaries on both sides of commercial disputes — as claimants pursuing what they’re owed and as defendants protecting what they’ve built. As business-litigation lawyers licensed in both Brazil and the United States, we run commercial, corporate, and shareholder disputes end to end, in English.
Reviewed by Luciano Oliveira, Esq., LL.M — licensed in Brazil, Texas, and California. Last reviewed July 2026.
This page is general information about business litigation in Brazil. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Every dispute is different, and only a formal consultation with a lawyer licensed in Brazil, reviewing your specific facts, can tell you how the law applies to your situation.
What business litigation covers in Brazil
“Business litigation” — also called commercial or corporate litigation — is the resolution of company disputes through the courts, and, where the parties agreed to it, through arbitration. For a foreign company operating in or with Brazil, the disputes that most often escalate are:
- Contract disputes — breach of a supply, distribution, services, or partnership agreement; disputed terms; non-payment (see Breach of Contract).
- Shareholder, partnership, and corporate disputes — deadlock, oppression of a minority shareholder, fights over management, dissolution, and the withdrawal of a partner (apuração de haveres).
- Commercial debt and enforcement — collecting on unpaid invoices, notes, and judgments (see Debt Collection in Brazil).
- Unfair competition and business torts — misuse of trade secrets, breach of a non-compete, tortious interference, bad-faith conduct.
- Consumer and regulatory claims against a company — actions by customers or regulators, including class actions.
- Real-property and intellectual-property disputes with a commercial dimension.
Our focus is the cross-border case: a dispute where one side sits outside Brazil and needs the whole thing run, translated, and explained in English.
Common lawsuits filed by a business
When our clients bring the claim, the recurring ones are breach of contract (sue for performance, for damages, or to terminate and recover losses), collection of a commercial debt, shareholder and partnership claims (enforcing rights inside a company, or exiting and recovering the value of a stake), and unfair competition (stopping a former partner, employee, or competitor from misusing confidential information or breaking a non-compete).
Common lawsuits filed against a business
When our clients defend, the recurring ones are wrongful or contested termination (labor-court claims, which in Brazil are numerous, fast, and employee-protective), bad-faith or breach claims, consumer claims and class actions under Brazil’s strong consumer-protection regime, and supplier or partner disputes that often call for a counterclaim.
Which action fits — your document decides your route
One feature of Brazilian litigation surprises most foreign businesses: how strong your paperwork is decides how fast you can move. To recover money there are three tracks:
- Execution (ação de execução) — if you hold an executive title: a check or promissory note, a public deed, or a written contract signed by the debtor and two witnesses (CPC art. 784). The court skips the “do you owe it?” phase and orders payment within three days or seizes assets.
- Monitory action (ação monitória) — written proof but no executive title: the court issues a payment order that becomes enforceable if the debtor doesn’t object in time.
- Ordinary collection (ação de cobrança) — weak proof: you prove the debt at a full trial first.
The takeaway is worth acting on today: have your Brazilian contracts signed by two witnesses. That one step can turn a years-long trial into a direct execution. For debt-recovery strategy, see Debt Collection in Brazil.
How a business case runs (and where to read the mechanics)
We assess the merits, choose the forum — the state courts, the labor courts, or arbitration — and move deliberately: an urgent injunction (tutela de urgência) to freeze assets where needed, then filing, evidence (including court-appointed expert evidence, perícia), judgment, and enforcement through the courts’ asset-attachment systems. If your debtor enters judicial reorganization (recuperação judicial), individual collection is stayed and the claim must be filed inside that proceeding — a reason to act before a struggling counterparty files.
The general mechanics live on dedicated pages, so we don’t repeat them here: how lawsuits work in Brazil (civil law, limited discovery, foreign parties), how long they take, what they cost and the loser-pays rule, and the risks of filing. Watch the deadline to sue (prescrição) — miss it and the claim is barred. If you already hold a foreign judgment or arbitral award, it must be recognized by the STJ before it can be enforced here.
Reaching the people behind the company — piercing the veil
Foreign investors rightly worry about the reverse risk: can a Brazilian claimant reach a foreign parent or its directors for a subsidiary’s debts? Sometimes yes. Brazilian courts can pierce the corporate veil (desconsideração da personalidade jurídica, Civil Code art. 50) where there’s abuse, commingling, or fraud, and labor, tax, and consumer courts do it more readily than many foreign groups expect. We advise on structure and defense to keep the corporate shield intact — and, on offense, use the same tool to reach owners who hide behind an empty company.
Why foreign companies choose Oliveira Lawyers
We are a cross-border firm built for exactly this: attorneys licensed in Brazil and the United States, working in English and Portuguese. Our business- and commercial-litigation lawyers have spent years representing overseas businesses in Brazilian courts, and we run the whole matter — strategy, filings, translation, evidence, and enforcement. We tell you plainly what a case is worth and what it will take, and when a dispute is better solved by arbitration or mediation than a courtroom, we say so.
Facing a business dispute in Brazil? We can help.
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Related: Litigation & Dispute Resolution hub · How Lawsuits Work · What a Lawsuit Costs · How Long Lawsuits Take · International Arbitration · Debt Collection · Contracts · Class Actions · Statute of Limitations.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company sue or be sued in Brazil?
Yes. Foreign companies have full access to the Brazilian courts, as claimants or defendants. You act through Brazilian counsel under a power of attorney, and a foreign claimant without property in Brazil may have to post a security bond for costs. You generally do not need to be present for routine steps.
What’s the difference between business, commercial, and corporate litigation?
In practice they overlap. Business or commercial litigation covers disputes from commercial dealings — contracts, debts, competition. Corporate litigation refers to disputes inside or between companies — shareholders, partners, management. We handle all of them.
How long will it take and what will it cost?
Both depend on the case. See how long lawsuits take and what they cost, including the loser-pays rule — and note the deadline to sue, which can bar a claim entirely.
Can we resolve a dispute without a full lawsuit?
Often — through a notarial protesto, negotiation, court-annexed conciliation, mediation, or arbitration if your contract has a valid arbitration clause. We pursue the fastest defensible path.
Do I have to travel to Brazil?
Usually not. Under a power of attorney, foreign clients handle most matters remotely; we appear, file, and report to you in English.