Area equivalent to the size of São Paulo will be maintained with current occupants for payment to the heirs of the American family
The court of Mato Grosso ruled, after 40 years of dispute, that about 300 families occupying land in the Sorriso region (MT) are expected to pay compensation to the heirs of the Zanini family, from American origin, according to a report in the newspaper published on 26.jan .2025. The area of 149,000 hectares, equivalent to the size of the city of São Paulo, was sold fraudulently in the late 1970s.
Judge Adriana Sant’Anna Coningham of the 2nd Civil Court determined that occupants may remain in the land by paying compensation based on the market value of the naked land, according to the Estadão. The decision considers the economic importance of the region, which became one of the main centers of Brazilian agribusiness.
The case began in 1984, when the couple Edmund Augustus Zanini and Therese Francese Zanini appealed to court after discovering that their lands had been sold through a counterfeit power of attorney, registered in a Paranavaí (PR) registry office in 1977. Three people were convicted criminally in 1991 for fraud, including the responsible notary.
According to the report of Estadãothe value of naked land in the region ranges from R $ 5,742.11 per hectare in Sorriso and R $ 16,262.39 in Lucas do Rio Verde, according to the IRS table 2024. The total compensation will be calculated individually for each occupant, proportional to the area it has.
The Zanini family had already achieved previous agreements to recover 55,000 hectares and remains open to negotiations, the newspaper Ruben Seidl, who represents the heirs, told the newspaper. Without agreements, the process can extend for another 10 years, reaching half a century of legal dispute.
The decision is considered a precedent to choose compensation rather than the discharge of the occupants. The Public Prosecution Service of Mato Grosso supported the solution for considering it “Less drastic” and for recognizing the positive impact of economic activities in the region.
The area disputed is today one of the main poles of soy, corn and cotton production in the country. In 1977, after suffering threats and a shot attack at his residence in Cuiabá, the Zanini family left Brazil. Edmund passed away in 2016 and Therese in 2021, without seeing the outcome of the case.
