El blog de Maria

LEY 57/1968 Won Case in First Instance Court against BANCO MARE NOSTRUM for our client who purchased an off-plan property from the developer Promociones Inroal at Andrax, Almería

We were pleased to inform our client recently that we had won their case against Banco Mare Nostrum in the First Instance Court.

The client received an individual Guarantee from the Caja Granada (now Banco Mare Nostrum).  The purchase contract was cancelled by private agreement in 2008.  The Bank paid the principal amount of the Guarantee but did not pay the interest that was due.

The First Instance Court has now ruled that Banco Mare Nostrum must now pay the unpaid interest plus legal interest on that amount from the date the Lawsuit was filed.  Costs of the First Instance procedure are imposed on the Bank.

Re: YOUR CASE AGAINST BANCO MARE NOSTRUM S.A.
PO xxx/2015

Please find attached Sentence No. xxx/2016 from the First Instance Court No.42 in Madrid.

Your case against BANCO MARE NOSTRUM S.A. has been won.

The final paragraph of the First Instance Sentence delivered on 10 October 2016 and notified on 14 October 2016 states:

“Upholding the Lawsuit filed on behalf of xxxxx against the entity BANCO MARE NOSTRUM S.A. I condemn the said defendant to pay the amount of x,xxx€ plus interest at the legal rate from the date the Lawsuit was filed, with imposition of costs of this procedure on the defendant”


So BANCO MARE NOSTRUM is sentenced to refund the amount of x,xxx€ plus interest at the legal rate from the date the Lawsuit was filed which was June 2015.

Costs of the First Instance Procedure are imposed on the Bank.

Interesting statements from the Judge in the Sentence were:


“Based on the Law, LEY 57/1968, the defendant bank issued an Individual Bank Guarantee to the plaintiff for xx,xxx€ for the purchase of a property from Promociones Inroal S.L. in Andrax, Almería.  Construction of the property was not started and the purchase contract was cancelled by private agreement dated 23 April 2008 requiring the defendant bank to pay the amounts guaranteed plus legal interest.

The bank only paid the principal amount but did not pay the interest which amounted to x,xxx€.

The bank defended the Lawsuit by saying that it paid the principal amount and that the buyer was satisfied with that.

The bank does not question the validity of the guarantee, nor its purpose.  Neither does it question the complete failure of the developer to construct the property.

In these circumstances and based on the individual guarantee issued by the bank under the then Law, LEY 57/1968 (now repealed), the buyers are entitled to reimbursement not only of the principal amount but also legal interest.

Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the Lawsuit is fully upheld and the Bank is sentenced to pay the x,xxx€ of unpaid interest plus this amount will also accrue interest at the legal rate from the date of filing of this Lawsuit”


BANCO MARE NOSTRUM has 20 working days from the date of notification of the Sentence, which was 14 October 2016, to comply with the Sentence or to file an Appeal to the Provincial Appeal Court of Madrid.

Although any appeal must be submitted strictly within the 20 working day deadline, we may not receive notification of an Appeal or of a firm sentence from the Court for a few weeks after the deadline due to the workload of the Court.

If an Appeal is filed by BANCO MARE NOSTRUM it will be necessary for us to file an Opposition to the Appeal on your behalf.