DeCotta Law – Health Warning

DeCotta McKenna and Santafé have failed in their attempt to deprive a man of his house and home when the judge at Torrox Court in Spain annulled the “public auction” on 21st January 2009 on grounds of ILLEGALITY!

Where is DeCotta Law?

The case revolves around an English Court order which was “mis-translated” by Barry True, Sworn Translator of the Spanish Foreign Ministry and Jon Sutton, a partner in Decotta Law. Jon Sutton was able to say that he had a sworn translation of the English Court order a full three days before it was stamped, dated and certified…what vision that man must have! Meanwhile, Reyes Gómez Llorente of DeCotta McKenna y Santafé in Nerja, representing Valerie Celia Russell,  wrote in an email on the 25th November 2008 saying  “you must understand that I am not tasting my time in explaining you the matter. Tehrefore, don´t waste your time in sending me more emails.”  Great words from an international law company don’t you think?…DeCotta Law really must know what they are doing.

But I wonder…do they understand and realize the real stress, pressure  and destruction that they and other English Lawyers in Spain have caused? It has yet to be measured.

English Lawyers in Spain such as DeCotta McKenna and Santafé (Decotta Law) and Paula Basham of Axar Properties should come with a Government Health Warning!

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Happy Christmas…You Are Homeless!

Happy Christmas…”You are Homeless!”

Happy Christmas…You Are Homeless

 

 

How would you like a Christmas card like that?

No one would of course but this is what, in effect, I have received courtesy of Valerie Celia Russell and her legal representatives in Spain, DeCotta McKenna and Santafé and Torrox Court. 

In order to fight any justice you need money. Those that have money can fight for their justice or injustice, in one way or the other. The more you have the more you can fight until the lawyers sort it out.

But when you have little or no money that is when you can find yourself on the rough side of the legal process…but justice should still provail…

In this situation,  there is not much difference to being a gambler in Las Vegas (and we all know who runs that show)…the lesson here is…don’t run out of money and certainly DO NOT give it all to a deserting wife for whatever reason…

Slipping through the legal net, a 53 year old Englishman, resident in Spain, is to lose his house and home at New Year.  He has fallen victim to cross-border legal processes and “incorrect procedure” in Spain…

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El Correos, The Ex and Alan Jackson

Bank Holiday has been and gone over the long weekend and El Correos (the post office) have sent back a letter I was supposed to sign for because it was not picked up within 7 days!

Good grief ! They were closed for 4 of those days and I could not get there the other days when they were open. How do you ever get anything done when you rely on these services to provide a service?

I wonder how important it was to receive that letter and sometime down the road I will be expected to answer for the letter I was unable to pick  up. And so it goes on.

I wonder if it was from Torrox Court or DeCotta McKenna and Santafé. Probably not the latter come to think of it, they don’t correspond by e-mail any more let alone write me letters…or do they?

 To paraphrase Alan Jackson…

“I’m getting screwed by the hour and older by the minute, my ex just pushed me over the limit, I’ld like to call her something but I think I’ll just call it a day”

For some light relief listen to  Alan Jackson and the real version of a song that sums up the mood of the hour!

Slipping through the legal net, a 53 year old Englishman, resident in Spain, is to lose his house and home within a matter of days. He has fallen victim to cross-border legal processes and unfortunate circumstances which include an archaic and somewhat secretive, local legal system.

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Injustice in Europe ruffles some feathers

Injustice in Europe ruffles some feathers.

 

Let me say straight away, by way of retraction, (without being asked) that Reyes Gómez Llorente of DeCotta McKenna and Santafé in Nerja was absolutely correct in her letter to my recent buyer. My 50% of the property (my home) jointly owned by my ex-wife, Valerie Celia Russell, will go to auction on the 21^st January 2009.

 

I will not go into too much detail in writing, as it seems I may be taken to court by DeCotta McKenna and Santafé. (if you remember the threats in an earlier report on this blog)

 

As if…as if a huge company like that would kick a man when he is down…particularly when elsewhere in the press they are “supporting” a well known local charity when and if you get your will written by them…as if…

  

The Good News!

 

Listen up! Anyone can buy a 50% share of this property which, although held under one title deed (escritura) has now ben divided into 4 (four) lots. It is being offered for sale in 4 lots: 1 house, 1 cottage, 1 large plot of land and I small of land.

 

So … would you like to buy 50% of lot 1, lot 2, lot 3 or lot 4 and share it with Valerie Celia Russell ?

 

The Public Auction

 

I have been asking for months for what constitutes a public auction and what anyone needs to do to participate. I finally have an answer.

 

All you need to do is turn up on the day with 30% of the bid price deposited in the bank account number supplied by the court. You may also make your bid in writing in a sealed envelope. 

 

(NB. This is NOT a translation by a Sworn Translator nor is it legalized in any way and certainly not several days before I received it !)

 

So what is for sale?

 

Roughly translated, you can buy 50% of:

 

Lot 1: Land: € 21,372.97

 

Lot 2: Land: € 1,311.30

 

Lot 3: Cottage: €37,642.37

 

Lot 4: House: €89,845.04

 

In total: € 150,171.68 buys you a HALF SHARE of my home and property which is shared, on paper, with my ex-wife Valerie Celia Russell.

 

WHAT A DEAL !

 

What a deal, when you consider you could have bought this whole property for a mere €235,000 at the current market value (yes, there are Estate Agents that value these things) IF I had been allowed to sell it to you by, yes you guessed it, Valerie Celia Russell and her legal representatives, DeCotta McKenna and Santafé. However, in their wisdom, they have blocked every sale to date and made it impossible for me to honour my debt as set down by the English Court Order.

 

So here’s the deal….

 

All you need to do to own your own bit of paradise in Spain (jointly with Valerie Celia Russell of course) is turn up at Torrox Court, Malaga at 12 noon on 21^st January 2009 with €400. (You will need the 30% deposited but let’s face it, €400 isn’t much is it?)

 

Otherwise what do you think will happen? Valerie Celia Russell will take the jackpot!

 

The Bad News!

 

The English Court Order, under which I was ordered to pay a sum close to £ 67,000, has been mistranslated and used to force the sale of 50% of my property. It is now available in 4 lots, whereas during the past 4 years every attempt by me to sell the whole or part of the property has been blocked. The debt has mounted due to an 8% interest rate being placed on the debt. The rate of interest in Spain at the time of the Order was 3%. The time limit set to find the sum was 3 months. Properties in Spain, particularly rural ones such as mine, simply do not sell in that time frame, not then and not now.

 

If I were to raise the required sum to satisfy the debt before the 21^st January 2009 deadline there is now some doubt that Valerie Celia Russell would even be removed from the title deed according to what I can make of a previous  DeCotta Law letter.

 

So, if this is correct, in effect, my ex-wife, will have had €90,000 in cash, a further €130,000 (or so) in payment with interest AND retain a half share in this property. Conversely, if I am unable to raise this sum she will “buy” my half share at a so called “public auction” (which incidentally, is anything but public), own the whole property and will have had the original €90,000.

 

Was this the intention of the English Court Order?

 

The question of the jurisdiction of the English County Court is in doubt, the dubious mistranslation of the court order, the fact that

 

A judgment will not be recognised:

 

if the defendant was not served with the document which instituted the proceedings in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable the defendant to arrange for his or her defence; (http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l33054.htm)

 

and several other aspects of this case are all currently under review.

 

 

Is this justice in Europe or injustice in Europe?

 

 

There is a lot more to share with you but right now I’ll leave you, along with one or two notable authorities, to wonder about the legality of these actions and who on earth would buy 50% of a property with a stranger.

 
Slipping through the legal net, a 53 year old Englishman, resident in Spain, is to lose his house and home within a matter of days. He has fallen victim to cross-border legal processes and unfortunate circumstances which include an archaic and somewhat secretive, local legal system.

Injustice in Europe – A Review

Following many comments both public and private I thought it necessary to publish a review.

Summary:

2001: 6 months after making the move to Spain wife deserts husband. Husband sends €90,000 (all joint savings) to wife in order for her to start new life in England. Wife sues for divorce. No papers were ever received by husband.

2004: Aug. 11th. Divorce settlement case in Hastings County Court, England. Wife legally represented, husband represented himself (no legal representation was available due to his residency in Spain). Court awards wife £66,590 payable within 3 months. Interest rate set at 8% while in Spain it was 3%.

2004/5 Edward tries to appeal decision. Appeal denied. Edward engages Estate Agents.

2005: Aug. 6th.   Edward, trying to honour debt, finds first buyer for property. Edward receives mail from DeCotta Law  stating they represent Valerie Celia Russell who will not accept any sale “on the basis that the proceeds will cover the entire judgment debt”   There was a shortfall of some £8,500.  Additionally, …”we have had the court order legalised and translated into Spanish” quote from  Jon Sutton, DeCotta McKenna and  Santafé.

2005: Aug.11th. English Court Order translated by official Sworn Translator. (incorrectly) Edward suffers work related accident and becomes disabled.

2008: May. Spanish Court Order discovered on noticeboard of Torrox Court by friend of Edward. Official notice dated February 2008. No other notice received by Edward.

2008: Sept/Nov: New buyer found. New buyer told, in writing by DeCotta McKenna and Santafé, that Edward’s 50% of the property was set to be auctioned on 16th Dec. at Torrox Court. The  Official Translation of the original English Court Order was found to be incorrect. Torrox Court deny issuing order for 16th Dec auction and supply no details as to how a public auction is to be carried out and state that the auction is set for 21st January 2009.

Slipping through the legal net, a 53 year old Englishman, resident in Spain, is to lose his house and home within a matter of days. He has fallen victim to cross-border legal processes and unfortunate circumstances which include an archaic and somewhat secretive, local legal system.