SAO PAULO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A court injunction has suspended a proposed capital raise by Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa SA, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The decision, signed by Judge Azuma Nishi, suspends a proposed capital raise that was to begin on Friday. The homebuilder had planned to sell up to 80 million reais ($15 million) in new shares.

Gafisa shares were up 46.3% in mid-afternoon trading after the decision.

Esh Capital, a hedge fund which is minority shareholder in Gafisa, had requested the suspension, questioning the dilution by the capital raise and alleging it should be approved by a shareholders assembly.

Gafisa said it will appeal the decision, noting that the request to cancel the capital raise had been rejected by the courts eight times before. Gafisa said its chief executive, Henrique Blecher, is focusing in increasing cash generation and reducing its leverage. ($1 = 5.3570 reais) (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Paula Laier; Editing by Leslie Adler)