VICTORY FOR FINCA PARCS ACTION GROUP LAWSUIT 2 IN FIRST INSTANCE COURT IN HELLÍN

All eyes are on the process of Justice in this high profile case Keith and given the substantial evidence in your favour, it's surely just a matter of time now.

Lets see what timeframe will be required to reach a conclusion, but in the interim it will be interesting to see if the enforcement process is dealt with in a reasonable timeframe. What's sure is that Keith Rule will be no pushover!!

We live in hope! Stay strong!!!

Thanks Ads.

Yes, I will stay strong.  You are right this is a high profile case and we do have a very strong First Instance Judgment based on the substantial evidence we presented to the court.

It will continue to remain a high profile case - I will make sure of that!

The Sabadell CAM tactic of calling all of us to appear in person at the trial really backfired on them.  The Judge got to see real people in front of her and we got a lot of interest from the Spanish media - TV, Radio, Newspapers etc.  So we must thank CAM for that exposure!!

Now let us hope that CAM's latest tactic of filing an appeal will also backfire on them.  It is now our chance to gain an Appeal Court Judgment against them, which will make the case even more high profile and allow others to use our success as Case Law and a precedent in their own cases!!

I am remaining very positive.  Whatever the outcome we could not have done anymore.  We have, what I believe to be one of the strongest cases for buyers without Bank Guarantees - if we do not win in the Appeal court then I don't know who can!!!!

Everyone should stay positive - this is just another hurdle on the long road to justice.

The result of the appeal will be of great interest to many people.  It will be good for the image of Spain if the Appeal Court upholds the First Instance decision.  Spain has a lot to gain and a lot to lose from the result of this case!!

We are aware that even after the Appeal court there is the possibility of the Case going to the Supreme Court - but let's not entertain that thought right now!!

One step at a time.

Kind regards

Keith

Keith Rule, co-ordinator of Finca Parcs Action Group on the BBC Radio 4 programme 'You and Yours' at 12 noon today - 11 July.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kknvz

BBC Radio 4 – You and Yours – Radio 4’s Consumer Affairs Programme

Wednesday 11 July – 12 noon

Social Care, Spanish properties and age-friendly cities

As the long-awaited Social Care White Paper is published by the Government we look ahead at what it means for those who are receiving care and the carers themselves.

A possible landmark court judgement in Spain for the thousands of British people are thought to have lost money buying plots of land in the country.

Plus, as part of our When I'm 65 season, we look at the UK's only World Health Organisation 'Age Friendly City' and see what is being done to help the increasing and often isolated population of ageing people in urban areas

Go Keith!

Listeners - if you are unable to catch this programme 'live' you can always hear it again on i-player for at least the next 7 days.

Ruth

Thanks Ruth.

It was a pre-recorded interview which was recorded at 9am this morning - so the broadcast version was a little shorter - they cut out some of it.................especially the bit where I mentioned names of the ex-CAM directors.....and the fact that the Bank of Spain had ignored our complaint!!

Kind regards

Keith

Fantastic Keith...... only picked it up part way through so do you have the exact reference for a replay of the interview on radio 4?

Well done.

Should be here, Ads:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qps9

Ruth

Or here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kknvz

Click 'listen now'. 

Due to editorial guidelines I cannot get the full interview - only the edited version that was broadcast.

Kind regards

Keith

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vymv3

Thank you Keith and Ruth.

Does this affect your case in any way  Keith or will Sabadell Bank become liable?

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/interestinginfo/7397/spanish-cam-bank-closes-after-137-years-in-business.aspx

Keith,

Just heard your interview on the BBC. Congratulations! That was very clear and eloquently put. I hope the increase in publicity will put even more pressure on the banks to follow the law and pay up. And hopefully, it will also speed up your appeal hearing.

Well done,

ChrisW

Thanks María.  Let's hope true justice will be done in the Appeal!!!!

Thanks ChrisBW for your kind words.  The interview slots are relatively short and it is difficult to condense 6 years into 5 minutes - so I am pleased it came across OK.

Kind regards

Keith

PRESS / MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FINCA PARCS ACTION GROUP vs CAJA DE AHORROS DEL MEDITERRÁNEO (CAM BANK) & SPANISH DEVELOPER, CLEYTON GES SL

APPEAL SUBMITTED BY BANCO CAM

BANCO CAM (SabadellCAM) FILES AN APPEAL AGAINST THE FIRST INSTANCE COURT JUDGMENT WHICH SENTENCED IT TO REPAY 1.5 MILLION EUROS OF PURCHASERS DEPOSITS AT FINCA PARCS

FINCA PARCS ACTION GROUP – TIMELINE OF THE LAWSUIT

●  No legally required Bank Guarantees for Off-Plan deposits totalling 1.5 million Euros
●  Lawsuit against CAM Bank & developer Cleyton GES SL filed in February 2011

●  First Instance Court Preliminary Hearing held on 12 January 2012
●  Trial held on Monday 21 May 2012 & Tuesday 22 May 2012

●  Judgment released in favour of Finca Parcs Action Group on Friday 8 June 2012
●  CAM Bank and Cleyton GES SL sentenced to return deposits amounting to almost 1.5   
    million Euros to the buyers with the addition of legal interest and costs
●  CAM Bank appeals the First Instance Court Judgment

          

MEMBERS OF THE FINCA PARCS ACTION GROUP OUTSIDE THE FIRST INSTANCE COURT AND CAM BANK IN HELLÍN –MAY 2012

CAM BANK APPEAL

CAM Bank, recently rebranded as SabadellCAM, has filed an appeal against the Judgment of the First Instance Court in Hellín which sentenced it along with the developer Cleyton GES SL to refund buyers deposits in the case of the Las Higuericas Finca Parcs development near Murcia, Spain.

In the First Instance Judgment CAM Bank was sentenced, jointly and severally, with Cleyton GES SL to refund almost 1.5 million Euros plus interest and costs relating to 55 sales contracts for 47 members of the Finca Parcs Action Group.

The deadline for the submission of an appeal and payment of the deposits to the Court was Tuesday 10 July 2012 and the CAM Bank Appeal was dated 9 July.

The developer, Cleyton GES SL, did not appeal the First Instance Court Judgment.

RESPONSE TO THE APPEAL

The Appeal filed by CAM Bank was admitted into the Court system on 13 July and the Finca Parcs Action Group now has 10 working days to file their opposition to the appeal.

Jaime de Castro, Lawyer for the Finca Parcs Action Group, expects a favourable decision from the Albacete Appeal Court considering “the strength of the First Instance Judgment against CAM Bank and the available Case Law relating to Banks liabilities and obligations according to Spanish Law, LEY 57/1968”

PAYMENT OF 1.5 MILLION EUROS

De Castro also announced that payment of 1,494,710 Euros had not been made to the Court by either defendant; therefore he has now “requested the provisional execution of the Judgment while the appeal process continues”.

As for the timescales for reaching a Judgment in the Appeal, De Castro said that the Albacete Appeal Court normally resolves these cases in a reasonable time, which can be between two months and one year depending on the characteristics of each case.

Throughout the trial in May, CAM Bank maintained it was not responsible for the situation and that all irregular actions and illegalities were committed only by the developer.

MISMANAGEMENT, NEGLIGENCE & MALPRACTICE

However, regarding the involvement of CAM Bank, which claimed it has no relationship with the buyers, the judgment of the First Instance Court states that:

“The truth is that CAM knew that the payments made by buyers into accounts at their branches were on account of real estate purchases and CAM showed absolute disregard to the obligations imposed on financial institutions by LEY 57/1968 and this behaviour can be described as banking malpractice.  It is clear the off-plan deposits were used in a manner contrary to the requirements of Spanish Law, LEY 57/1968.

We must not forget that the obligation to deposit the amounts advanced to an account opened specifically for that purpose is that of the financial institution as not only does it receive the premium of the guarantees but also benefits by way of profit from the project”

SabadellCAM



CAM Bank was taken over by the Bank of Spain in July 2011 and then sold to Banco Sabadell for One Euro at the end of 2011.  The report produced for the Bank of Spain by the FROB described the many irregularities committed by the former CAM managers, especially the reckless real estate lending and the granting of annuities and pensions to senior management.

In March 2011 CAM reported profits of 38.9 million Euros, however just 3 months later its accounts showed losses of 1,136 million Euros.

In 2011 the Bank of Spain described CAM as ‘Scandalous’ and called the Bank ‘The Worst of The Worst’.

The CAM senior managers to whom the Finca Parcs Action Group took their complaint in 2009 are currently appearing in the High Court accused of committing corporate crime, price manipulation, embezzlement, fraud and misappropriation.

Last week CAM Bank was liquidated after 137 years as a Savings Bank (Caja) and the CAM business is now incorporated under the Banco Sabadell brand as SabadellCAM.

APPEAL WAS EXPECTED

Keith Rule, coordinator of the Finca Parcs Action Group said:

“We expected an appeal from CAM and were therefore prepared to respond accordingly.  We are in a good position with a high profile case and a very strong First Instance Judgment against both defendants.

Our fight is not yet over; this is just another hurdle that CAM is putting in our way on the long road to Justice.  However, we remain positive and I believe we have one of the strongest cases of its type – that of buyers without Bank Guarantees.

The First Instance Judgment was a landmark ruling and therefore the result of the appeal will be eagerly awaited by many thousands of buyers of off-plan property in Spain.

It is clear from the First Instance Judgment that Banks do have liabilities and obligations according to Spanish Law, LEY 57/1968.  This law was introduced in the public interest in 1968 specifically to protect purchasers’ deposits when purchasing off-plan properties in Spain.  It was even strengthened by the Building Act of 1999 but has been largely ignored by the developers and Banks over the past decade.

If the Law had been adhered to and properly enforced during the real estate boom then the Banks would not have lent so recklessly to builders and developers as they would have been restricted by the liabilities imposed on them by LEY 57/1968.

Let’s hope that many other Lawyers now see that the Courts do recognise that in certain circumstances Banks do have liabilities and obligations according to LEY 57/1968”

BBC RADIO 4 INTERVIEW

Keith Rule, coordinator of the Finca Parcs Action Group was interviewed by Radio 4 on Wednesday 11 July.  You can listen to that interview on the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vymv3

I am adding it to my blog now

Kindest,

María

Fantastic Keith. Your responses to the interview were very succinct, although it's a shame that the reference to the BOS ignoring your complaint was edited out . Well done.

Hopefully you will now keep this as high profile as possible given the current media attention on financial institutions and their malpractice. Have you been approached by other broadcasters?

Good luck, and as ever, many thanks for keeping us all posted of events. You are a wonderful advocate for justice.

Thanks Ads.  Yes, we will keep this case as high profile as possible.  Banco CAM (SabadellCAM) actually made reference to all the media coverage in their appeal document!

Here's some more:



26 July 2012 Written by Jack Troughton

CAM appeals over malpractice

DISGRACED CAM Bank is challenging a court judgement finding it guilty of malpractice over its handling of 1.5 million euros in deposits for Spanish homes that were never completed.

Members of the Finca Parcs Action Group expected the bank – now rebranded as SabadellCAM – to appeal the May verdict, although it went to the wire, and the high profile case was lodged with Albacete Appeal court just a day before the deadline.

CAM failed to issue legally required bank guarantees to people buying off-plan homes at Las Higuericas Finca Parks, near Hellin, and with developer Cleyton GES SL faced the legal battle.

At Hellin First Instance both Court CAM and Cleyton GES were found guilty, jointly and individually, and ordered to pay the 1.5 million euros, plus interest and the action group’s costs into court. The developer is not appealing the judgement against it.

However, the money has failed to appear and the action group’s legal team will insist this is done during the appeal process.

The case involves 55 sales contracts involving 47 members of Finca Parcs Action Group. Its lawyers also expect a victory at appeal “because of the strength of the judgment against Cam Bank and the available case law relating to banks’ liabilities and obligations according to Spanish law.”

At the May hearing the judge found CAM “showed absolute disregard” to its obligations concerning the deposits and its behaviour “can be described as banking malpractice.”

PROFIT

And the judge said it was clear the money was used “in a manner contrary to Spanish law” while CAM enjoyed the premium of the guarantees and would have benefitted from the profits of the project.

Keith Rule, co-ordinator of the action group, said: “We expected an appeal from CAM and were therefore in a position to respond accordingly. We are in a good position with a high profile case and a very strong First Instance judgement against both defendants.

“Our fight is not yet over; this is just another hurdle that CAM is putting in our way on the long road to justice. However, we remain positive and I believe we have one of the strongest cases of its type – that of buyers without bank guarantees.”

He added: “The judgement was a landmark ruling and therefore the result of the appeal will be eagerly awaited by many thousands of buyers of off-plan property in Spain.”

Keith said the judgement showed banks did have liabilities and obligations under the law - legislation introduced in 1968 to protect purchasers and further strengthened under the Building Act of 1999 “but has been largely ignored by the developers and banks over the past decade”.

And he said had the law been adhered to and enforced during Spain’s property boom “banks would not have lent so recklessly to builders and developers.”

For further information visit www.fincaparcsactiongroup.com or www.bankguaranteesinspain.com

http://www.roundtownnews.com/rtn-news/costa-blanca-north/item/38071-cam-appeals-over-malpractice.html

For those who are interested:

APPEAL UPDATE

Banco CAM filed a 44 Page Appeal (Recurso de Apelacíon) to the First Instance Court judgement on 10 July 2012.

On 26 July we submitted our 57 Page Opposition (Oposición al Recurso de Apelación) to the Banco CAM Appeal and this was delivered to the Court and stamped/sealed the same day.

Three Magistrates will preside over the Appeal at the Audiencia Provincial de Albacete (Albacete Appeal Court).  We expect a decision within one year.

The developer Cleyton GES SL did not appeal the First Instance judgement.

We remain confident and are very optimistic of a successful outcome to the Appeal.

This is a high profile case and will continue to receive a great deal of media coverage.  If we gain a successful outcome in the Appeal then this will create Case Law which can be used by others as a precedent in other similar cases.

PAYMENT OF 1,494,710€ - THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF THE DEPOSITS CLAIMED

On 18 July 2012, we filed a DEMANDA DE EJECUCIÓN PROVISIONAL (Provisional Execution Demand) to the court for the amount of 1,494,710 Euros plus interest and costs.

This was admitted by the Court on 19 July 2012 and on the same day the Court issued an ‘assets seizing/freezing order’ against both defendants – Banco CAM S.A.U and Cleyton GES SL.

The ‘freezing order’ was also sent to the following Banks:

Banco CAM S.A.U

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A
Banco Santander S.A

Banco Pastor S.A

Banco Popular Español S.A

Bankinter S.A

Banca March S.A

La Caixa (Caixabank S.A)

Ciaxa Catalunya
Unicaja

These banks are instructed by the Court to freeze any account(s) in the name of Cleyton GES SL or Banco CAM S.A.U with sufficient funds (combined or otherwise) to cover the 1,494,710€ principal amount plus a sum which has tentatively been set as the provisional amount for interest & costs. The interest and costs will be calculated and confirmed at a later date by the court.

Both defendants had 5 working days to oppose the ‘freezing order’.

To date we have not been notified of any opposition to the freezing order having been filed to the Court by either defendant.

More information to follow…………..

Kind regards

Keith

Maria said:

‘’Let´s hope too this people will invest in Spain again. WE NEED YOU!’’

I am sure you are on a winner here Maria. Billy Brit is due to return to Spain on mass after witnessing such true and swift justice.

I presume you and all the other Spanish lawyers are operating a ‘’no win, no fee’’ arrangement and that means ‘’win when paid, not on paper’’, and you are not stuffing your purse ‘’up front’’ full of clients Euros for legal cases that your industry helped cause in the first instance.

Now that the banks are going to receive the 100 billion bailout, I am fairly confident the government will have instructed the banks to use it promptly to settle their wrong doings. Especially to give preference to all the Billy Brits they and the developers have ripped off. I am sure the Cam bank will now not kick the ‘’can’’ down the road for another 5 years hoping most of the claimants fade away or drop of their perch.

Maria we know your country and the Spanish people have the utmost integrity.

July 2012‘’King Juan Carlos of Spain has been kicked out and blacklisted as an unfit honorary president of a leading conservation group after the row over his elephant killing and shooting trip to Botswana earlier this.’’

A fine example  to the Spanish people of knowing right. from wrong.