Development: Jardines de Manilva
Lawbird lawyers have won a Group Action Law suit in a First ruling against developer Manilva Costa, S.A. on the 25th February 2010 acting on behalf of a group of British clients, who had purchased off-plan property from Manilva Costa, S.A. in well-known development Jardines de Manilva (Manilva Gardens), located in the municipality of Manilva. They all purchased off-plan units through British Real Estate Agency Ocean View Properties (OVP) which has now been legally wounded up in the UK. The judge dismissed claims from Manilva Costa alleging it was only OVP which had received the funds and that they had at no time received any funds from our clients nor were they a party to the Private Purchase Contract (PPC) (!) as they had at no time signed any of the purchase contracts. The developer’s claims were overturned one by one in view of the substantial evidence collated by our legal team whereby the commercial relationship and the roles assigned to each were irrefutably established as well as Manilva Costa’s acknowledgement of having received our client’s stage payments. The judge concluded all the PPC were valid and binding despite not being signed or even acknowledged by the Spanish developer.
The judge went on to rule the Spanish developer had breached the Private Purchase Contract on four different accounts:
- Late delivery in handing over the property.
- Lack in attaining the mandatory Licence of First Occupation (LFO) which is required to occupy and live in a dwelling.
- Lack of promised communal facilities which enhanced the resort’s value (Social Club) as promised in the developer’s glossy brochures.
- Non-performance of promised features included within the Private Purchase Contract which resulted in a significant decrease of value of the new build properties (i.e. the built size of units was considerably less, reduced number of bathrooms etc).
Estepona’s lower court has now sentenced the developer Manilva Costa, S.A. to:
- Refund our clients their deposits in full amounting to over 400,000€
- Pay the legal interests accrued on the said amounts.
- Award the legal fees to our clients, meaning the developer will pay for them.
Documents
- Original Manilva Costa Ruling in Spanish (PDF 1,500 kb)
- Translation of the Manilva Costa Ruling (PDF 166 Kb)