Brazil's Superior Court of Justice in 2026: The Binding Precedents Changing Life for Companies, Creditors and Consumers

Why these 39 rulings matter

Between January and July 2026, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça, STJ) — the country's highest court for non-constitutional federal law — decided 39 issues under the repetitive appeals procedure (recursos repetitivos). Each resulting thesis binds judges and courts throughout the country in cases raising the same legal question (Code of Civil Procedure, Art. 927, III). In practice, the answer for thousands of cases — including some that have not yet been filed — has already been given.

The First Section, which handles public law, decided 19 issues. The Second Section, private law, decided 7; the Third Section, criminal law, 9; and the Special Court (Corte Especial), 4. The STJ released its official summary on July 29, 2026.

This article does not repeat the list. It selects what changes concrete decisions for business owners, creditors, condominium managers and anyone who relies on a private health plan — and offers a critical reading of what the set reveals about the Court's current direction.

Asset protection: the legal entity is a shield again

Issue 1,210 — piercing the corporate veil. The Second Section held that, in civil and commercial relationships, the personal assets of shareholders can be reached only upon actual proof of abuse: misuse of corporate purpose or commingling of assets, under Article 50 of the Civil Code (the so-called "major theory"). The absence of attachable assets and the irregular winding-up of the company are not sufficient on their own.

The judgment was concluded on May 7, 2026, by a 4–3 vote, with Justice Raul Araújo as rapporteur. The dissent, led by Justice Nancy Andrighi, proposed changing how the burden of proof operates without changing the requirements — and the narrow margin shows that the issue is settled as binding law, but not in the realm of ideas.

For business owners, the ruling reinforces the value of a well-designed corporate structure and of strictly separate accounts. For creditors, it changes strategy: a veil-piercing request must be supported by concrete evidence of fraud or commingling, not merely by the failure of collection.

Issue 1,424 — court-fee waivers for companies. The Special Court required companies seeking free access to justice to prove their lack of means with complete accounting data — assets, liabilities, equity, results, cash flow, equity holdings and bank balances. Inactivity or a drop in revenue is not enough. This was the first repetitive appeal decided in an entirely virtual session.

Credit recovery: more effective enforcement

While Issue 1,210 protects shareholders' personal assets, other rulings of the semester move in the opposite direction with respect to the debtor who resists payment: they make enforcement faster and less vulnerable to maneuvering.

A caveat about "teimosinha": Issue 1,325 was decided by the First Section in tax enforcement cases. Its reasoning, however, rests on the effectiveness of enforcement in general, and private creditors are likely to invoke it as well.

For condominiums and property managers, Issue 1,391 is especially relevant: unpaid fees on a unit owned by a company under judicial reorganization remain collectible through ordinary proceedings, without filing a claim in the reorganization.

Tax and tax enforcement: the semester belonged to the tax authorities

Of the eight tax and tax-enforcement rulings that directly affect companies, seven favored the Treasury. The notable exception concerns guarantees by bank letter or insurance.

Issue 1,385 deserves strategic attention. By preventing the Treasury from refusing a bank guarantee or performance insurance on the basis of the order set out in Article 11 of the Tax Enforcement Act (Law 6,830/1980), the STJ preserves a company's cash while the debt is litigated — cash is no longer the only "acceptable" guarantee.

Issue 1,413, in turn, calls for attention from anyone planning to settle debts already registered as overdue tax liabilities (dívida ativa): once enforcement has been filed, settling the debt carries the extra cost of attorney's fees, even before service. Monitoring overdue tax registrations and acting before enforcement now has measurable financial value.

Consumers and health plans: protection with counterweights

In the private health insurance sector, the STJ expanded coverage but demanded more evidence from claimants and contained damages awards.

• Issue 1,295 — autism spectrum disorder. Limiting the number of psychology, speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy sessions prescribed to patients with autism spectrum disorder is abusive.
• Issue 1,316 — insulin pumps. Law 14,454/2022 also applies to older contracts, and a clause excluding continuous insulin infusion systems is invalid. But judges must follow the parameters set by the Supreme Federal Court in ADI 7,265: proof of a prior request to the health plan, consultation of the courts' technical health support unit (Natjus), and verification of the prescription, registration with the health regulator (Anvisa) and absence of an alternative on the mandatory coverage list — or the decision will be void.
• Issue 1,047 — group plans with fewer than 30 members. The health plan may terminate the contract unilaterally, provided it gives a proper reason. Small businesses and their employees are more exposed.
• Issue 1,365 — moral damages. An improper refusal of coverage does not, in itself, give rise to presumed moral (non-pecuniary) damages; distress beyond mere annoyance must be shown.
• Issue 1,315 — credit-bureau listing. The prior notice to the consumer before inclusion in a debtors' register (Consumer Protection Code, Art. 43, § 2) may be given electronically, provided sending and delivery are proven.

The message is clear: health-care claims now require technical support from the initial pleading — a formal denial by the health plan, a complete medical report and, where possible, health-technology assessment opinions. Generic damages claims are likely to fail.

Other rulings of the semester, in brief

Social security. The National Social Security Institute (INSS) may administratively cancel a disability benefit granted by a final judgment, provided there is an administrative proceeding and a medical examination (Issue 1,157). Bus drivers and conductors and truck drivers may have their work recognized as "special" (hazardous) on grounds of arduousness, subject to individual expert assessment (Issue 1,307). Involuntary unemployment that extends the insurance grace period may be proven by any means, but the mere absence of entries in the work booklet or in the national social security register is not enough (Issue 1,360). Survivor's pensions and prisoner's family benefits requested by a minor under 16 more than 180 days after the event are not retroactive under Law 13,846/2019 (Issue 1,421). Social security cases whose value can be determined by simple calculation do not require mandatory appellate review (Issue 1,081).

Administrative law and civil servants. The limitation period for claims on the underlying right against the State runs only from an express, formal denial (Issue 1,410). A class judgment against the direct administration does not benefit employees of autonomous agencies and public foundations (Issue 1,402). Unions lack standing to bring public civil actions on the Fundef/Fundeb education fund supplement (Issue 1,408). Freezes of the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM) for social security debts are not subject to the limits of Law 9,639/1998 (Issue 1,401). Rescissory actions concerning the 28.86% adjustment of the RAV allowance are barred by Supreme Court Precedent 343 (Issue 1,299).

Criminal law. A quantity of drugs incompatible with small-scale dealing rules out the reduced penalty for "privileged" trafficking; otherwise, quantity counts only together with other concrete elements (Issues 1,154 and 1,241). There is no continuing offense between misappropriation of social security contributions and contribution evasion (Issue 1,353) — a sensitive point for company officers. Minor children left by a homicide victim justify a higher base sentence (Issue 1,394). Criminal fines keep their criminal nature and are subject to the Criminal Code's limitation rules (Issue 1,405).

Sentence enforcement. Different progression percentages may apply to each conviction within the same enforcement proceeding (Issue 1,354); association for drug trafficking follows the fraction set in Article 44 of the Drug Law for parole (Issue 1,355); passing the national secondary-school exams (Enem or Encceja) earns sentence reduction even for those who already held that level of education, with no double counting (Issue 1,357); and the sentence for a crime committed during parole starts the day after the probation period ends (Issue 1,367).

A critical reading: three lines of force

Read together, the semester's rulings reveal a Court that seeks predictability but distributes burdens unevenly.

1. Legal form respected, enforcement toughened. The STJ protects the legal entity against automatic veil-piercing (Issue 1,210) and, at the same time, gives creditors stronger tools — repeated account freezes, simplified service by publication, condominium claims kept outside reorganization. The message is coherent: those who organize their assets lawfully are protected; those who merely hide from creditors are not.

2. More evidence, fewer presumptions. Fee waivers for companies require full financial statements; veil-piercing requires proof of abuse; moral damages against health plans require proof of distress; insulin pumps require a prior request and technical consultation. The STJ has been replacing presumptions with specific evidentiary burdens. This favors those who prepare — and penalizes those who litigate generically.

3. The fiscal pendulum. In tax matters, the scales tipped clearly toward the Treasury. The performance-insurance exception (Issue 1,385) matters, but it does not offset the revenue impact of removing the 20-minimum-wage cap on payroll levies (Issue 1,390) and of including PIS/Cofins in the presumed-profit base (Issue 1,312).

One point of tension deserves mention: the 4–3 vote on Issue 1,210 shows that the formal binding effect of a thesis does not end the doctrinal debate. Binding precedents can be overruled or distinguished — and the quality of argument in each concrete case remains decisive.

What to do with this information

Binding precedents change the value of contracts, the viability of collection efforts and defense strategy. Before filing a lawsuit, responding to an enforcement action or reorganizing a corporate structure, it is worth checking whether any of these issues reaches your case — and how to argue within or outside them.

Andrade & Cintra Advogados practices civil, business and wealth-planning law in Brazil, with an emphasis on corporate planning, credit recovery and strategic litigation. This text is for information only and does not replace an individual analysis of each situation.

Sources (in Portuguese)

• STJ julgou 39 temas repetitivos no primeiro semestre de 2026; confira todas as teses fixadas — STJ, July 29, 2026
• Tema 1.210 do STJ: desconsideração da personalidade jurídica — Felsberg Advogados
• A desconsideração da personalidade jurídica e o Tema repetitivo 1.210 do STJ — Migalhas
• O Tema Repetitivo nº 1.210 e a impossibilidade de desconsideração fundada exclusivamente em dissolução irregular — VLF Advogados
• Primeira Seção valida uso da "teimosinha" em execuções fiscais — STJ, June 23, 2026
• Fazenda não pode invocar ordem legal para recusar fiança ou seguro-garantia — STJ, March 10, 2026
• Repetitivo define critérios para fornecimento de bomba de insulina por planos de saúde — STJ, March 12, 2026
• Primeiro repetitivo julgado em sessão virtual define requisitos para justiça gratuita a pessoas jurídicas — STJ, July 3, 2026

Informational content. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Matters under U.S. law are handled by attorneys licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.