The Superior Court of Justice decided, unanimously, that loyalty programs such as airline miles and other accumulated points can be seized to pay debts, as long as they have measurable economic value. The Special Court considered that these benefits are digital assets that are part of the debtor's estate, since they are personal and non-transferable, and can therefore respond to their obligations.
The case was judged based on special appeal 2198485, filed by a creditor company that asked the Court to locate a debtor's points and use them to pay their debt. The rapporteur of the case was Justice Nancy Andrighi, who granted partial approval to the matter. The decision was followed by the Third Chamber of the court.
The court noted that the viability and the form of enforcing the seizure of these points must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the specific characteristics of each loyalty program and the solutions that can be adopted in the enforcement process. The intention is to find a way to carry out the seizure without causing excessive burden to the company issuing these points.
