Forthcoming Legal Action in Spain FAQs

As a member of the MRISG Members Only Forum you will have already seen this but to open the action to the wider public and victims of MRI this has been posted publicly for the world to see.

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1.  What case do I have?
In principle, everyone would have a civil against Martinez Echeverria Legal  Independence (ME/LI) given that the conflict of interest would have rendered  the legal representation service as “fake”. This would entitle anyone who  bought through ME/LI from Macanthony (MRI) to bring an action, as they would be  in this situation, for a refund of the legal fees paid towards the  representation.

2. How about a civil case against MRI?
This would most certainly be a waste of time and  money as these companies have been wound up and all but disappeared. However,  it is clear that Macanthony ran his companies as a tool to be able to protect  him from creditors, all the while flouting all regulations pertaining to fair  trading, bookkeeping, accounting and not the least important, business ethics  and morals. There is post about this legal angle at http://belegal.com/blog-by-antonio-flores/is-daragh-macanthony-no-longer-part-of-the-furniture/,  and it would entail bringing an action directly against Darragh Macanthony  personally which, if successful, could see the winning party seizing his  assets, including his football club.

3.  How do the civil differentiate from the criminal?
The criminal requires intent to defraud and  monetary loss, by concocting a preconceived plan to persuade people to part  with monies AND such people sustaining losses. The civil case requires  contractual default either by not performing the obligation in the legal  representation contract or, where the contract would have been null and void  “ab initio”, that is, from its inception, due to the impossibility to provide  legal representation service, as is the case, quite simply because ME/LI were  already working for the other party.

4. Who  are the alleged defrauders?
In principle,  MRI, Capital Partners and ME/LI, and the individual who caused financial harm  either directly, as a principal, or as an accessory (accomplices, co-operators).

5. Would  I qualify for criminal case?
If you bought  a property that was never built, or you bought a property because you were told  that you could get a mortgage, or on the basis of a “guaranteed rental”, or  once the property was known to not be built you were charged money to move to a  further one (“bait and switch”) or, if you chose not to change developments you  were charged to get your deposit acknowledged, and charged for it (“credit note”),  then there are strong grounds to believe that fraud intervened (fraud  understood as theft by swindle and misappropriation). We will however advise on  whether you qualify for one action or another on the basis of the paperwork you  have given us and what you can provide us.

6. Who  can determine in which position am I in?
A  lawyer with knowledge of the modus operandi of the triad (MRI, CFP and ME/LI)  would be able to tell you where you stand, legally. Currently, no more than a  few lawyers have acquainted themselves with this case.

7. What  is required to know where I am?
We will  need a short description of your position, stating namely whether your property  was built, and if it was built, if you were given a mortgage approval in  principle by CFP that convinced you that you qualified to get a loan and  therefore a property, if you were offered a rental package, if you were  subjected to the bait & switch session and ended up paying for this bogus  service, if you were given a “credit note” signed by  Macanthony or any of his acolytes and ended up paying for  this bogus service,  and a number  of other deceits that had, as a result, the loss (will attach a form for this).

8.  Can I run both actions at the same time?
No, the criminal action takes precedence over the  civil one and in fact, it already includes the civil one as part of the  compensations requested. If you start a civil case and then file a criminal  one, the civil case will be “stayed”, or interrupted, until the criminal one is  finalized.

9.  Can I just join a civil case and forget about the criminal  one?
Certainly, not a problem.

10. If other  claimants are pursuing via the criminal claim, will my civil claim be “stayed”,  that is, stopped?
Each claimant sues  individually and not as part of class action, which in Spain is reserved only  to Consumer Protection Associations. Therefore, the answer is no, you can sue  via the civil courts to obtain redress on your particular case.

11. Can we  all join under one case?
Certainly,  collective or joint actions are groups of claimants that sue together, within  one claim that encompasses all other smaller ones. But in reality, there are as  many claims as people claiming although they case is progressed as one unit.

12. What  is required to file the suit?
a.      Signed letter of engagement (to be advised on).
b.      Power of attorney (to be advised on).
c.      Supporting documentation proving your investment, with  particular reference being made to: contracts signed with the developer or  Macanthony, proof of payment of deposit, “bait and switch” documents, “credit  note” documents, rental guarantees and mortgage approvals in principle.
d.      Any correspondence you may have had with Macanthony  employees.

13. What if I have already sent the paperwork and letter of  engagement to another member of the claimants’ legal team? 
There is absolutely no problem as all claimants will  be joined under one action and the objectives and aims pursued are the same.

14. Where  will it be filed?
Jurisdiction is still  not determined but in principle, the main center of the activities carried out by  Macanthony was Spain, in particular Marbella,

15. How long  will the Court case take?
It is difficult  to tell given the variety of results when this question is made. We have been  involved in a Court case that has just settled, prior to hearing, after 10 years,  in relation to timeshare resale scam (details can be found at www.lawbird.com). This  is, however, an abnormal and exceptionally lengthy case that has slept in Court  for years and therefore, it is not to be used as an example. Statistically, a  Court of First Instance case in Spain takes up to 6.9 months, and a Criminal  case 8.9 months. This is perhaps also optimistic as most case would be filed by  one single claimant against one single defendant, as is not our case, and so I  would therefore be more comfortable with increasing this forecast by twice as  much, at least.

16. Do  I need to come to Spain to sue?
No, it can  be done with powers of attorney although there is a possibility, not  insignificant, that the defendants decide to call the claimants/plaintiffs to  give a statement and that therefore, they have to attend personally. This,  although unlikely, is possible.

17. How much  are the fees?
After some discussion, it  has been proposed that a fee of 7% of the sums claimed, plus VAT (18%), would  be appropriate, 50% of which would be payable in advance and the balance on  successful recovery of the sums and provided the sum obtained covers the  balance of the pending legal fee.

With a view to facilitate the payment of the initial 50%  of the legal fee for the action, the initial payment can be split as follows:

-         On signing the letter of engagement:                       €500
-         Payment  of  balance staggered:                               6  equal monthly payments

18.  What about translation costs?
We do not have an issue with English documentation as the lawyers are able to  do the translation in-house, and therefore, no further fees are required. If  the documentation is in any other language different from English, Spanish or  French, they would need to have the documents translated. In principle,  translations need not be official provided the other party does not challenge  the validity of these, which may occur only of the quality of the translation  is poor, inexact or, alternatively, they wish to introduce the challenge as a  spurious delaying tactic (a move that may, ultimately, backfire on the  defendants).

19. What is latest about the MRI and Martínez-Echeverría  Association? 
The  Association has now been duly incorporated. This organization is a non-profit  making entity that will have, among its aims, to assist and endorse the legal  case to be filed with the Courts, exposing the wrongdoings committed by the above  companies and individuals at different levels, inclusive of media, Government  and judiciary. Any person can join the association and in due course, members  will be advised on the sum of a small contribution to cover maintenance costs  that will allow the association to carry out the actions required to attain its  objectives.

20. What do  I need to get started?
In principle, indicating  your willingness to join an action against will suffice, by emailing the  address contact@mri-sg.org, indicating  your contact details. Upon receipt of it, we will forward you a short request  for information that we will use to advise on the likelihood of joining one  action of another. The documentation we will require is listed on point 12.c.  We undertake to provide you with an answer within 10 working days in respect of  the action you are most likely to pursue.

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Please read these questions carefully - if you need to speak to someone personally send your contact details to contact@mri-sg.org and your details will be passed to a member of the forum who will call you personally to discuss.

If you want to be part of this legal action for justice - Now is the time to come forward!

Rest assured you need not fear any further threats from any member of the MRI employee (past or Present), their lawyers or directly from Darragh MacAnthony or one of his directors.   We know they read this blog and will be well aware they could be breaching UK and Spanish Law by trying to Harass, Intimidate or Bully you any more and could be subjected to criminal proceedings relating to any such contact. 

Also be aware some of our members have had offers to settle their disputes or provide the but once they stop the promises are not fulfilled.  It is a deliberate attempt to