Dealership cannot retain vehicle to demand payment for repairs

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Dealership cannot retain the vehicle as a way of demanding payment for repairs made. Refusal to return the property may even lead to the filing of an action for repossession, when the embezzlement is proven. reproduction Refusal to return a car may lead to the filing of an action for repossession, says STJ. reproduction The understanding was adopted by the 3rd Panel of the Superior Court of Justice when judging a special appeal from a dealership that, due to lack of payment for vehicle repairs, decided to retain the car until the owner paid for the services.   In the case analyzed, however, the minister highlighted that the workshop never exercised possession of the asset, but only its detention, as the vehicle was left at the dealership only to carry out repairs.

In the repossession action, the company that owned the Germany Phone Number vehicle claimed that the refusal to pay was due to a discrepancy in relation to the manufacturer's warranty coverage. The owner understood that the service would be covered by the warranty, but the workshop concluded that the defect occurred due to the use of low quality fuel. The request for reinstatement was dismissed in the first instance — the judge understood that the retention of the vehicle was legitimate, motivated by the service provided and not paid for. Consequently, the dealership could also not exercise the right of retention under the allegation of having made improvements to the vehicle.



However, the Court of Justice of Espírito Santo recognized the validity of the repossession and concluded that retention with the purpose of compelling the owner constitutes self-protection, which, as a rule, is prohibited by the national legal system. At the STJ, the rapporteur of the concessionaire's special appeal, minister Villas Bôas Cueva, initially recalled that article 1,219 of the Civil Code — used by the workshop as one of the grounds for the appeal — provides for one of the rare hypotheses of self-protection permitted by Brazilian legislation, which In other words, the right of retention resulting from improvements made to the property, and can only be invoked by the possessor in good faith.