Timeshare Litigation Case Study
Client Nationality: Norwegian
Defendant Resort: Anfi Resorts
Resolution Location: Madrid; Spain
Judicial Level: Supreme Court
Case Type: Civil
Timeshare Structure: Timeshare Week
Resolution Period: 5 Years (2012)
Amount Awarded: £21,358 + legal fees & legal interest.
Client Story:
The client purchased a Monte Anfi week on the 23rd of October 2007. When the clients tried to reserve their weeks in March 2009, they were informed by Anfi that they were not eligible to reserve as they had not paid their annual maintenance fees. The clients were shocked as not only had they tried to book twelve months in advance as recommended by Anfi, but they had never received any maintenance bills that year. A month later the clients received their maintenance bill which they were told they had to pay within two weeks. The clients paid the maintenance fee and proceeded to book their two weeks on the 1st of July 2009. As time went by the clients never received any confirmation of their booking. Because of this they decided to contact Anfi yet again, who denied any reservation had been made. After a series of conversations with Anfi our clients were informed that they would not be able to stay in Monte Anfi as the complex was full. Out of options the clients turned to the private market where they could rent an apartment in Anfi Tauro.
Action Taken by CLA:
Frustrated and angry with Anfi, the clients decided to contact Canarian Legal Alliance to review their legal options and see if they could potentially recover their monies. After reviewing their options the clients decided to place their trust in Canarian Legal Alliance and initiated a claim against Anfi. Three months later their case was presented at court, in turn being accepted on the same day. By early 2013 the client’s trial took place in the lower courts of Gran Canaria in which the judge decided to side with Anfi and dismissed their case. The clients decided to appeal their case to the High Court in Las Palmas, just like the First Instance courts the High Court dismissed the case.
Remaining optimistic and confident of Canarian Legal Alliance, the clients decided to appeal their case to the Supreme Court. The highest ranking court pronounced itself and declared the clients contracts null and void ordering the return of 21,358€ plus legal fees and legal interest.
Resort Infraction & Sentence Summary
The Supreme Court by now on many occasions has declared contracts which have been signed with a length of more than 50 years, (perpetuity) null and void. The maximum duration of such a contract is maximized in 50 years by the Spanish timeshare law 42/98. Our clients´contract infringed this specific article of the law, which leads to radical nullity.
The floating weeks have been also declared null and void by the Supreme Court as it is missing an essential part of the contract- which is the object. In this case our clients experienced at the very beginning how inflexible are the floating weeks for the client, and flexible for the resorts. Floating weeks have been also declared unlawful and contracts containing them are declared null and void by the courts all over Spain after having set the jurisprudence the highest ranking court in Spain.
In this case the court found for the clients due to the illegalities described above and awarded the return of all money paid to the value of 21,358€, it also awarded the clients the return of their legal fees and legal interest.
These cases show that the courts are on the side of the consumer and will find for them when any resort infringes on the law set to protect them.