MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Carlos de la Garza, Raúl Acosta and Enrique Tamez, De la Garza & Acosta Abogados, S.C.
9.3 Litigation Process The implementation of oral commercial trials has sig- nificantly expedited the resolution of judicial disputes. Depending on its complexity, litigation in insurance matters within such processes can usually last for approximately four to ten months in its sole instance. The duration depends on various factors specific to each case, the federal entity where the litigation takes place, and other specific circumstances. This time- frame does not account for the direct amparo trial, which may still be filed against the judgment issued in the oral trial, and serves as a constitutional review process of said judgment that can extend the total litigation period by an additional 12 to 18 months. Commercial trials can be initiated before either local or federal judges, at the claimant’s discretion. In addi- tion, any judge located in a jurisdiction with a delega- tion of the National Commission for the Protection and Defence of Users of Financial Services is deemed competent to hear an insurance lawsuit, even if the federal entity chosen has no point of contact with the dispute, which has given rise to a kind of forum shop- ping. The oral commercial trial comprises an initial written part and a verbal part, structured as follows. • The presentation of the initial written claim, which must be accompanied by all documents that the claimant has in their possession, as well as a description of the evidence they intend to present during the trial. • If the judge determines that the claim meets the requirements stipulated in the legislation, it will be admitted for processing and the judge will order the defendant (insurance company) to be sum- moned to trial to respond to the claim within nine working days. • The insurer will submit their written response to the claim, addressing the alleged facts, raising defenc- es and exceptions, and presenting evidence to demonstrate the inadmissibility of the claims made against them. • If the judge determines that the response to the claim was submitted on time, they will consider the insurer as having duly responded to the claim, raised exceptions and defences, and announced
their evidence for the trial. The claimant will then be granted a review period of three working days to respond as appropriate. • Within that period, the claimant will address the defences and exceptions raised by the insurer, and may offer evidence to refute them. • Subsequently, the judge will set a date for the preliminary hearing within the next ten days. During this hearing, the judge will urge the parties to reach an agreement; if this is not possible, the dispute will be formally established, the admissibility of evidence will be determined, and the parties will be summoned for the trial hearing. Once the trial hearing is opened, the admitted and duly prepared evidence will be examined. After the examination of the evidence, the parties will have the opportunity to present their arguments, following which a judgment should ideally be delivered. How- ever, this rarely occurs in practice, and the hearing is suspended to set a later date at which the judgment will be pronounced, with the parties being summoned to hear it. No ordinary appeal is allowed against the judgment issued in an oral commercial procedure. The only means of challenging it is through a direct amparo trial, which must be filed within 15 days of the noti- fication of the judgment and is heard by the Colle- giate Circuit Courts. Exceptionally, when the judgment involves a direct interpretation of a constitutional pro- vision and establishes a relevant and significant crite- rion for the Mexican legal system, the Supreme Court may choose to hear the case, at its discretion, and this decision cannot be challenged. 9.4 Enforcement of Judgments The enforcement of judgments in Mexico is consid- ered a matter of public order. In insurance matters, when a final judgment orders the insurance company to make a payment, the judge must require the insurer to demonstrate within 72 hours that it has fulfilled its obligation to pay the benefits as ordered. If the insurer fails to provide such verification, the judge will order the securities market intermedi- ary or the institution holding the insurer’s securities to proceed with the sale of the securities owned by the
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