How we managed to halt the auction of a property by «rewinding» a hidden court case
Can you imagine inheriting a relative's house and discovering, almost by chance, that it's just days away from being auctioned off by the bank due to legal proceedings that no one informed you about? This situation, which seems to be lifted from a suspense film, is exactly what one of our clients faced.
Fortunately, thanks to the swift and strategic intervention of the lawyer ANTONIO JESUS FERNANDEZ ALVAREZ, We managed to curb the injustice and completely turn the situation around.
A process behind the owners' backs
It all began when a bank decided to claim a mortgage debt. The main problem was how they went about it: the original owner of the property did not reside in Spain, but in the United Kingdom, a fact that the bank was perfectly aware of because it was stated in the deed of the mortgage itself.
However, instead of doing things correctly and notifying her of the lawsuit at her actual overseas address (as required by international rules), they attempted to serve the documents at addresses where they knew she wouldn't be. Failing to find her, the court opted for the fast-track route: posting the notice on the court's bulletin board. Obviously, the owner never found out that she was about to lose her home.
The situation became even more dramatic when the owner passed away. Despite the law requiring the process to be halted to notify the heirs, the proceedings continued in secret against a person who had already died, even reaching the point of scheduling the public auction of the property.
Our lawyer's intervention
The heir found out about the existence of this process at the last minute thanks to the notice from the person renting the house. It was then that he went desperately to the lawyer. Antonio Fernandez Álvarez.
We had to act against the clock. Our lawyer submitted a powerful brief calling for the annulment of the entire process. Their argument was one of pure common sense and justice: nobody can lose their assets if they haven't been given the opportunity to defend themselves.
Antonio Fernandez Álvarez He proved to the judge that the bank had acted in bad faith, concealing the owner’s actual address in order to speed up the repossession and prevent any discussion of the terms of the loan, which included exorbitant and exploitative late-payment interest of 18%. Furthermore, it was shown that not all possible avenues had been exhausted to locate the family before the notice was posted on the public notice board.
The judge finds in our favour
The outcome couldn't have been better. The judge ruled in our favour and issued a resolution annulling everything that had been done behind the family's back.
In practice, this meant «pressing the rewind button» and going back to square one. The auction was immediately suspended and the bank was forced to serve the notice correctly. Thanks to this achievement, the heir is no longer a helpless victim; he is now formally within the process, with the time and tools necessary to defend his home, review the real debt, and fight against the abusive clauses the bank was trying to charge.
Moral
This case teaches us a great lesson: when faced with the abuses and mistakes of big banks, nothing should be considered lost. With the right advice and tenacious defence, it is possible to halt seemingly inevitable processes and restore your rights.
