A court in the state of Paraná has scheduled a conciliation hearing for September 29, five days before the first round of Brazil's October elections, in a lawsuit filed by Senator Sergio Moro (PL) against former federal judge Luciana Dias Bauer, according to columnist Mônica Bergamo of newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. Moro, who is now running for governor of Paraná, is seeking at least 100,000 reais (roughly $18,000) in damages.

The lawsuit was filed in January this year after Bauer said in an interview with TV 247 that Moro had physically attacked her in 2016, when both served as federal judges in Curitiba. According to a report by outlet Brasil 247, the case is being heard by the 6th Civil Court of Curitiba under case number 0002520-98.2026.8.16.0001, filed on January 27.

What Bauer alleges

In her interview with TV 247, Bauer said the episode followed a decision she made during a judicial duty shift ordering the release of a detainee under a habeas corpus ruling handed down by a higher court. She said court staff linked to the 13th Federal Court tried to talk her out of the decision, and that when she later reviewed the case files, the order had disappeared from the electronic system. "I saw that it had been deleted," she said, according to Brasil 247.

Bauer said the alleged assault happened shortly afterward, inside an elevator reserved for judges. "As soon as the elevator door closed, he grabbed my throat," she said, according to the same report, adding that Moro allegedly ordered her to stay quiet. Sergio Moro was, at the time, a well known federal judge who later led the sprawling "Lava Jato" (Car Wash) anti-corruption probe before entering politics.

Moro's defense

In the lawsuit's initial filing, Moro's lawyers describe Bauer's statements as "extremely serious and manifestly false accusations" that damaged his honor, image and reputation. The defense calls her account a "vindictive fable" and argues the accusation only became public almost ten years after the alleged episode, with no police report or formal complaint filed with the TRF-4 appeals court's internal affairs office at the time, according to Brasil 247. Moro denies attacking his former colleague.

The timing of the conciliation hearing, just days before the first round of voting, is likely to keep the case in the spotlight during the final stretch of Moro's campaign for governor. So far there is no public record of a forensic examination or other evidence confirming or disproving Bauer's account of the elevator incident.