Predatory Litigation Causes Annual Loss of R$ 2.7 Billion to São Paulo’s Justice System
In this illegal practice, lawyers abusively use the Judiciary to gain undue advantages; research identified 337,000 new cases of this type each year in the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP)
Predatory litigation — the abusive use of the Judiciary by lawyers to obtain undue advantages — causes an annual loss of R$ 2.7 billion to São Paulo’s justice system, with 337,000 new cases filed each year. These figures are from the 2025 São Paulo Justice Yearbook, published by Consultor Jurídico, based on data from the Corregedoria of the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP). The illegal practice involves filing mass lawsuits with generic claims, often without the clients’ authorization.
The study analyzed predatory lawsuits in the TJSP between 2016 and 2021, resulting in a total loss of R$ 16.7 billion to public coffers. This estimate used the average cost per case calculated by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), approximately R$ 8,400.
Often, lawyers engaging in this illegal practice use generic claims in numerous lawsuits filed on behalf of vulnerable individuals who were irregularly recruited. In many cases, people with low education levels or elderly individuals sign documents without understanding the case or even knowing these lawsuits exist.
One objective is to force the opposing party to spend resources defending themselves in multiple courts simultaneously or to pressure them into a settlement. Predatory litigation can be punished administratively, civilly, and even criminally.
Another TJSP analysis found that just 37 lawyers filed a total of 28,000 lawsuits over three and a half years. In just two months, one attorney filed 37 lawsuits on behalf of the same client.
“By overloading the system with simulated or frivolous claims, billions in losses are generated, and the swift resolution of legitimate cases is hindered, penalizing society as a whole,” said lawyer Camila Dias Rocha from Nascimento e Mourão Advogados.
