LEY 57/1968 Won Case in First Instance Court against Banco Popular for our client who purchased an off-plan property from the developer Huma Mediterraneo at the Mazarron Country Club
We were extremely pleased to inform our client recently that we had won their case against BANCO POPULAR in the First Instance Court.
The client paid their off-plan deposit according to the Purchase Contract to the developer’s bank account at Banco Popular. The client did not receive an individual Guarantee for their off-plan deposit from the developer, Huma Mediterraneo or from the developer’s bank, Banco Popular, which was the bank that received the funds and also issued General Guarantees on the development.
Re: YOUR CASE AGAINST BANCO POPULAR ESPAÑOL S.A.
PO xxxx/2014
Please find attached the Sentence from the First Instance Court No.8 in Murcia.
Your case against BANCO POPULAR ESPAÑOL S.A. has been won.
The final paragraph of the First Instance Sentence delivered on 12 July 2016 and notified on 12 July 2016 states:
“Substantially upholding the Lawsuit filed on behalf of xxxxxx against BANCO POPULAR ESPAÑOL S.A., I must condemn the defendant bank to pay to the plaintiff the amount actually deposited by the plaintiffs in the account of the developer at Banco Popular on account of the anticipated price for the acquisition of housing promoted by Huma Mediterraneo S.L., resulting in the conviction of the amount of xx,xxx Euro, plus interest at the rate of 6% per annum as agreed in the Guarantee Policies issued by Banco Popular from the delivery date of the advance payments until payment in full, with the imposition of procedural costs on the defendant”
So BANCO POPULAR ESPAÑOL S.A. is sentenced to refund the amount of xx,xxx€ (which was the amount for which you had proof of payment to the Banco Popular account) plus interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date you paid to the developer’s bank account until complete repayment.
Costs of the legal proceedings are also imposed on Banco Popular.
Interesting statements from the Judge in the Sentence were:
“The defendant, Banco Popular, must be responsible to the plaintiff for the sums of money paid to the seller for the purchase of off-plan housing which were entered into the developer’s account at Banco Popular.
For this purpose the mention of ‘Global Currency Exchange Network’ as the payer of the transfer has no bearing on the outcome of this procedure, as documentary evidence was provided to show that the payment related to the exact house/plot number reserved by the buyers.
Regarding the initial reservation deposit of x,xxx€, this must be excluded from the liability of Banco Popular as it was not entered into the developer’s account at Banco Popular.
I must order the defendant bank to pay interest at the rate of 6% per annum as agreed in the General Guarantees dated 12 May 2005 and this is payable from the date the amounts were paid to the developer’s account at Banco Popular until the date the full refund is made.
In terms of legal costs, this is governed by article 394 of the Civil Procedure Act. Therefore, as the Lawsuit has been upheld substantially with only a slight difference of less that 10% between the amount claimed and the amount awarded, legal costs must be paid by the defendant bank”
BANCO POPULAR has 20 working days from the date of notification of the Sentence, which was 12 July 2016, to comply with the Sentence or to file an Appeal to the Provincial Appeal Court of Murcia.
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 POPULAR it will be necessary for us to file an Opposition to the Appeal on your behalf.