Sao Paulo
The lawsuit brought by singersongwriter João Gilberto against EMI Records received a new statement this Tuesday (17). According to the ruling of the 14th Private Law Chamber (formerly 9th Civil Chamber) of the Courts of Rio de Janeiro, the fourth expert report of the case was approved and, as a result, a compensation was imposed on the record company in the amount of R$ 150 million. The decision can still be appealed.
The lawsuit against EMI was opened in 1997, when João Gilberto, who died in 2019, requested compensation for moral damage due to the unauthorized remastering of songs on CDs. In March 2022, the STJ also stated that the originals of the tapes, at Gilberto’s request, could remain in the record company’s possession.
For the Q5, lawyer Leonardo Amarante, who represents Luisa, one of Gilberto’s daughters and heirs, explains that the value of R$ 150 million was determined on the basis of an expert report. Since it was confirmed with this Tuesday’s decision, the discussions are closed since the document was prepared by an expert considered impartial by law.
“It would be possible to appeal to the STJ, but as we understand it and the law, the litigation is practically over since all the facts have been analyzed and the discussion on it has been concluded in today’s hearing and cannot be resumed.” “Special Resource of the Headquarters says Amarante.
The previous report stated that the reparation was supposed to be R$13 million, but the family’s defense told the court that EMI had falsified the calculation. This Tuesday’s ruling confirms this point with irregular invoices.
Universal Music, responsible for the former EMI Records, was contacted by F5 and did not respond to requests for positioning as of the publication of this report.