Dispute revolves around defining the deadline for calculating monetary correction; sentence could reach R$60 million
The STJ (Superior Court of Justice) will judge a of copyright by businessman Leonardo Soltz against presenter Xuxa Meneghel this Tuesday (10.mar.2026). The case, which has been ongoing for 26 years, will be judged by the 3rd Panel after a prominent request made by Minister Nancy Andrighi.
The dispute revolves around the characters of “Cabralzinho gang“. The businessman states that he presented the material to a representative of the company Xuxa Promoções e Produções in 1998, but received a negative response. According to him, the following year, the company created similar characters to create the visual elements of the program “Xuxinha’s Gang”.
Twenty-six years after the first court case, the discussion is not about plagiarism, but compensation. Xuxa has already been sentenced in two instances because of the project: R$45 million in the 1st instance and R$40 million in the 2nd instance, plus interest and monetary corrections. With the necessary adjustments, the compensation amount could reach R$60 million. The need for compensation has already been recognized. Now, the presenter’s company is appealing against monetary correction and interest on the value.
The case was being judged in a virtual plenary session. The rapporteur, Moura Ribeiro, argued that interest could only be charged from the moment the value of the debt was definitively fixed. In other words, after the judgment of the motions for clarification in the 2nd instance. He was accompanied by minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva. Here’s the vote (PDF – 105 kB)
The president of the 3rd Panel, Humberto Martins, argued that interest should run from the service of the original action, as determined by the Civil Code. He also stated that neither party requested a change in the initial interest term, so the STJ could not change it on its own. Here’s the of the vote (PDF – 78 kB). He was accompanied by minister Daniela Teixeira.
Minister Nancy Andrighi asked for prominence (to take the case to the physical plenary) and will be responsible for breaking the tie. Two oral presentations are still planned: Anna Maria da Trindade dos Reis, representing Xuxa’s company, and Ricardo Loretti Henrici, for Soltz.
