New Amounts in Controversy Applicable in Commercial Oral Trials and Expedited Commercial Oral Trials

The reforms to the Mexican Commerce Code, published on January 25, 2017 and amended by means of a decree dated March 28, 2018, set forth the time periods for transitioning from the traditional written trial system to commercial oral trials. Beginning January 26, 2020, lawsuits with an amount in controversy of up to four million pesos (approximately $210,500 U.S. Dollars) will be tried as Expedited Commercial Oral Trials, and those with amounts in controversy above such amount will be tried as Expedited Commercial Written Trials. On the other hand, all commercial trials for which a special trial procedure is not provided by applicable law must be tried as Commercial Oral Trials, irrespective of the amount in controversy. The principal objective of both expedited and ordinary commercial oral trials is to reduce the amount of time in which a commercial dispute is resolved. Therefore, certain novel measures will be implemented, such as the inability to appeal a judgment rendered pursuant to these new trial procedures. An unfavorable judgment rendered by means of the new trial procedures may be challenged solely by means of certain procedures, such as a direct extraordinary constitutional appeal (“amparo directo”), among others. The foregoing rules are intended to consolidate Mexico’s legislative and judicial efforts throughout the last decade so that oral commercial trials become a reality in most cases, and, as a result, the time it takes to resolve a commercial dispute is substantially reduced for the benefit of commercial litigants.