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This letter recently sent by a British couple who have lost money at Trampolin Hills to the judge hearing the case. Gives you an idea of how things sometimes go in Spain. Some names removed.
FAO: The Presiding Judge
Investigating Court 2 of Murcia
The Royal Palace of Justice
Murcia City
MURCIA
Spain
4th September 2010
Dear MadamI am taking the unusual if not unprecedented step of writing directly to not just the
Courts but specifically to you Madam Judge in connection with the above matter.
However in no way should this fact be taken as any criticism of my Legal
Representative. Both he and his firm have represented me correctly in both the Civil and
now these Criminal proceedings through the Courts in Murcia. My concerns are quite
specific to the Courts and the Legal process in Spain in relation to this matter.
Naturally as a “non-Spanish” resident I fully both accept and appreciate that the
legal process in Spain is very different to that in the UK and so have to understand
that these “differences” may be perceived as “delays”. Maybe it is the fact that being
accustomed to UK Court practise that it is difficult to understand the process’ in
Spain. Were my case being handled in the UK not only would it have been
completed by now after nearly two years were that not to have been the case we
would at least have a clear indication as to time scale with a trial date having been
fixed. The UK system would have had a preliminary Hearing in what we refer to as
the Magistrates Court when the matter would be referred to Crown (the equivalent
of your Court) with specific timescales and dates being provided by the Court. In this
instance having started this legal process some two years ago we still can see no
end in sight with no trial date having been set … such a procedure can seriously
damage the Plaintiff and protects the Defendant to an extent which appears unfair.
In my particular case I purchased a property from the Defendant in “Good Faith” in
2005 and paid over a considerable sum of money … approaching €200,000! When it
came time to complete I became aware of a large Mortgage outstanding to CAM
Bank which would have to be cleared before completion could take place. I then
discovered that the Defendant had sold the property TWICE to a third party who had
then moved into my villa. No prior indication was given to either my wife or I of this
action … neither had it been requested by either of us. For sure in the UK this
amounts to a clear case of fraud but I accept this may be different in Spain. What is
just as clear however is that the delays of the Court in this instance are simply
serving to allow the Defendant to sell and hide all his assets so as to leave
potentially nothing available to ourselves as the plaintiffs.
It will for certain be common knowledge to yourself and the Courts in Murcia if only
because of the attendant publicity given to the matter in the Media and the Press
that the Defendant and his partner have defrauded some 1500 innocent individuals
of approaching €200,000,000.00!
My request of you is therefore very simple … could you expedite this matter with an
earlier Hearing so that at least we may be able to salvage something from our life
savings which we sank into this purchase. -
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Acually Shakeel you are wrong … I wrote the letter in question and I went and spoke to the Judge myself last Thursday. Whilst appearances can be deceptive she was extremely sympathetic and has elected to “fast track” my case; then again what does “fast track” really mean … 2years instead of 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am intrigued with the Sean Connery connection … I was not aware of his problem.
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@AndrewWilford wrote:
Acually Shakeel you are wrong … I wrote the letter in question and I went and spoke to the Judge myself last Thursday. Whilst appearances can be deceptive she was extremely sympathetic and has elected to “fast track” my case; then again what does “fast track” really mean … 2years instead of 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am intrigued with the Sean Connery connection … I was not aware of his problem.
That’s encouraging news. Well done for doing something about it. Hope it works out.
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Well … in reality it was one of those “How do you do, my name is Sue” moments where (a) knowing the Building and (b) the Court number I simply went to the offices attached to this Court and introduced myself to the staff. The Courts system in Spain is very different to the UK insofar as on each floor there are avout 4 -5 Courts. The workload is assigned to a particular Judge and Court number … mine was Court 2. The Judge was hearing a case when one of the staff simply entered the Court and spoke privately to the Judge who apparently simply requested that I be asked to sit at the back of the Court and wait. Once the trial she was handling ended I was simply requested to go to the front of the Court and explain my request … she listened (as opposed to simply “hearing”) … excused herself to retrieve my file and then with a politeness which frankly stunned me simply said that with my having flown from the UK just to see her, and having listened to my case that she was sufficiently concerned to bring the matter to the top of her list. All that was, of course, a week ago now and still I wait for a Court date. This would NEVER have happened in the UK but the Judge’s actions betrayed a “personal” side to the character of the Justice in Spain which is usually sadly lacking … either that or the situation with Trampolin (bothe Solera and Hills) is so well known in Murcia that the guilt of those involved in the Development makes their ultimate outcome a foregone conclusion. either way I was as surprised as I guess you are by the response!
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I am indeed surprised. I have come accross some nasty & incompetant judges in London Courts. YOu will not see them anywhere. I even went to check the local Pub to see if they go there for Lunch etc.
It seams that you are now in the hands of the Court admin department. I think you have to give them a nudge.
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Please see this link to the online form for EU petitions. https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/petition/secured/submit.do?language=EN
Also the article linked here:
http://www.theleader.info/article/21820/trampolin-hills-denounced-in-brussels/?send=ok#comments
We advice all Trampolin Hills buyers to fill out this form and submit your petitions, asking for a full compensation and refund of the deposits with interests, in the case our homes can not be built. Thank you.Also, whether you were issued a bank guarantee or not, you can fill out this detailed petition and submit it online:
http://www.bankguaranteesinspain.com/index.htmWishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
http://bftboth.blogspot.com/ -
Also, we phoned the court today, and were told we can expect an answer regarding the bankruptcy just before or just after the summer holidays in 2011. Please feel free also to leave comments on our blog.
http://bftboth.blogspot.com/ -
@AndrewWilford wrote:
Acually Shakeel you are wrong … I wrote the letter in question and I went and spoke to the Judge myself last Thursday. Whilst appearances can be deceptive she was extremely sympathetic and has elected to “fast track” my case; then again what does “fast track” really mean … 2years instead of 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am intrigued with the Sean Connery connection … I was not aware of his problem.
I was also intrigued so I googled it, …………………..here it is! http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/15/sean-connery-marbella-court-spain
Sorry to read of your situation, I have such a minor one in comparison, Hope you get something back if not all.
HB
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@bftboth wrote:
Also, we phoned the court today, and were told we can expect an answer regarding the bankruptcy just before or just after the summer holidays in 2011.
http://bftboth.blogspot.com/Just read the blog and the timescale of the whole fiasco…the whole thing stinks of fraud and corruption. Not a chance of Spain getting it’s act together regarding
property law and justice.However I hope all of you are lucky.
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