Misrepresentation and negligence
Misrepresentation and negligence are the most common areas of law under which people attempt to sue companies who have professed to act for them in some manner. These claims generally need a high level of proficiency and understanding on both tactical and logistical levels. Our lawyers always say it is not only law that is important but also strategy.
The claims are based in negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation and breach of statutory duty. An understanding of all of these areas and a good strategy is essential to the prosecution of claims on behalf of the client being successful.
We have taken on, and won, a number of group (class) actions and single party actions.
Misrepresentation, or misleading information, often occurs where a company made a false statement of fact which induced you to enter into a contract. You will need to discuss with a solicitor the fine line between a statement of fact, which may lead to a legal claim, and a statement of opinion, which cannot.
You may be able to sue someone under negligence if they breached their duty of care towards you, and you have suffered loss as a consequence. For example, if there is an abusive clause in a contract, something many Banks have been guilty of, or they undertook to do something on your behalf and did not fulfill this duty.
Example case
Over the past few years we have had a number of people come to us with similar stories of having given a legal firm here power of attorney many years ago to purchase their properties, and some time after finding out that they never signed for the properties at the Notary, so that the properties remained in the builder´s name.
The builder took mortgages on the properties (some were already in place, others were taken out after final payment was made) and now the banks are repossessing the properties. The builder went into liquidation, so the only possible avenues of recourse are suing the lawyer representing them, the estate agent and the Banks in some cases. Negligence will only lead to a financial reward in court if it is directly attributable to a loss. In many of the cases, we do not risk a Judge seeing the case as a client´s opportunity for greed by asking for a financial settlement equal to that invested when times were good (though this can be a secondary petition), but only for a wrong to be put right, and the client´s situation to be redressed so that they have suffered no financial loss as a result of the negligence, and can sleep again at night.
It’s a very complicated area of law, and the best way to resolve these types of problems is to speak to a specialist solicitor, such as ourselves.
Spanish Legal System
Under Spanish law the duty of care is regulated in Article 1902 of the Spanish Civil Code, which gathers liability for negligent acts or omissions, stating “Anyone who through deed or omission causes harm to another, through fault or negligence, is obliged to repair the harm caused.” The basis of the Spanish legal system are the statutes, custom and principles of law. Precedents of judicial decisions (case law) are also extremely important.
These decisions by a Court are not a source of law, but they interpret and complement the statutory law, custom and general principles of each case, as they do in the UK. So often our solicitor will study all possible precedents in existent when considering a case. Many rules that apply originate from two different legal systems, European law and also national law.
The traditional contract law in Spain and England offers various remedies for not providing the other party with proper information, or acting for them properly.
Spanish courts have established a definition: “Act or omission, damage or loss, illegality, fault or negligence of the agent and the relation of causality between the damage and fault “. In Spain, these cases are tried by one Judge at a local Court first, then for Appeal go to High Court, where there are three Judges, and lastly the highest power is the Supreme Court. The burden of proof is on the defendant, who should prove that he acted “diligently” and complied with all the aspects which regulate his activity, or if there are no regulations for the activity, then with normal precautions.
What is important in legal cases is facts. The evidence and proof provided are very important, as we need to show that the client suffered loss as a result of someone not acting properly. We are able to guide and assist our clients with this, explaining what documents are needed, and clearly how the action will progress.
Why You Should Act?
Thus we are able to successfully sue many unscrupulous people: individuals and companies. If you have had a problem, whether as a result of negligence by some type of agent, lawyer, Bank, other company, or private individual, please contact us with the circumstances of your particular case.
We also now offer No Win No Fee in some cases, so it is worth us considering your case, as you may have given up taking something forward, and now there may be an opening for you. Some examples of types of cases we deal with are clients that bought Trampolin Hills, Fortuna Golf, Technologica Urbanistica properties, and have had problems, and many others.
Please contact Amanda on enquiries@spanishsolutions.net with details of your case, and we will be happy to help you. Don`t delay any longer as we have a solution and there are time limits to these cases.
47 Comments
Denise Metliss
I took Unicaja to court as they refused to give a us a figure to paid off our mortgage . One day it would be one amount the next week a different figure. We placed all monies we inherited from my mother-in-law, which was in excess of what was needed as our English solicitors transferred all the money with the court in Dec 2012. It took 2 years to go to court and the judge found in our favour however did not dictate the amount to be paid. So all this time we have been suffering with limited monies from our pensions. There is nothing happening, I am extremely frustrated and don’t see an end to the situation. Can I sue the judge?
Kindest regards Denise