Again we want to share with you another successful claim regarding deposits paid and money paid in advance, that buyers had lost in buying off plan properties in Spain.
Again it was married couple affected in the development known as Almanzora Country Club developed by the company Huma Mediterraneo SL, which is currently in an insolvency process.
In this case, Mr. and Mrs. L, British nationals, lost € 80,250 that was paid to the said developer to account HUMA had a Spanish bank. Unfortunately no guarantee for the money paid was given to my client, and neither the developer nor the bank accept repayment of the money lost.
From White Baos, we initiated a legal claim against the bank, claiming for the deposit paid by our clients, plus interest (which in these cases can reach a very high amount, almost half of the amount paid) and the legal costs, etc.
So, again, the Court Number 4 of the town of Totana, in Murcia, in its judgment 41 of 2016, declared as stated in our claim, than according to the law 57/68 and majority jurisprudence, and especially the recent court precedents from the Supreme Court of Spain, as the judgment of the First Section of this Supreme Court dated on the 21th of December 2015, that the bank’s responsibility is evident, since this entity had not only opened in the name of the developer the special bank account where customers paid the deposits and their payments on account of the final prices, and therefore the bank must check that the money paid by buyers was guaranteed by the developer through a bank guarantee or an insurance policy, but also, this bank approved a general bank guarantee line for this development.
The court thus, agreed fully with the claim and ordered the bank to refund the amount claimed by buyers, plus interest and costs, even if our customers had not been given either by the bank or by the promoter, any individual guarantee for paid by them.
Also in this case, the bank has not appealed the court decision, which is now definitive, and the principal of the claim has been already paid back by the bank, leaving only pending that the court states the exact interests and costs that the bank must pay also to our clients.
We invite to all those affected in this development, or who have lost the money paid buying a property off plan, to contact us to check if they have a grounds to claim. Contact us and we will help you.
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys information related to legal issues.
Carlos Baos (Lawyer)
Spanish Law firm solicitor attorney barrister.
Alicante, Denia, Costa Blanca Marina Alta
White & Baos 2016 – All rights reserved
