Bruno Calfat Advogados represented an engineering company in a debt recovery lawsuit filed against the City of Rio de Janeiro, seeking to recover amounts owed for additional services carried out under an administrative contract for a public works project. These services, although duly authorized and certified, were not paid by the municipality.
In the lawsuit, the construction company demonstrated that the additional services had been expressly authorized and validated by the public authority and that the corresponding credit was formally acknowledged in the administrative sphere but remained unpaid.
The trial court ruled in favor of the construction company, recognizing the existence of the debt and issuing a judicial enforcement order. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the City filed an appeal, arguing, among other points, that the documents presented by the company were insufficient to support the filing of a debt recovery lawsuit, since the administrative file had allegedly been lost, which would prevent the verification of the credit.
In the trial of the appeal, the 3rd Panel of Public Law of the Rio de Janeiro State Court unanimously held that the debt recovery lawsuit was properly supported by written evidence and that “the loss of the administrative file and subsequent accountability of public servants do not invalidate the regular administrative acts performed.” Therefore, the City cannot evade its obligation, as this would constitute unjust enrichment.