MORE than 50 Irish people are among a group of investors who lost millions of euros in deposits paid on dream holiday homes in southern Italy that were never built.
This week, following a three-week trial at the High Court in London, they are awaiting judgement on their case against the law firm who acted on their behalf - hoping it may finally allow them to recoup their lost funds, which range between €40,000 and €120,000 in each case.
The ruling, which is expected at the end of April, comes roughly eight years after they handed over the deposits - worth a substantial 50 per cent of the properties they were purchasing - to Italian solicitors Giambrone Law.
Owner Gabriele Giambrone and his firm faced charges of professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of trust in the High Court case.
In 2007 and 2008, when Giambrone’s clients signed up to purchase the off-plan properties on the new Jewel of The Sea development in Calabria, they believed they were buying an idyllic slice of life on the continent.
What the Jewel of The Sea development really looks likeBut just a couple of years later the land their holiday dreams were due to be built on was seized by the Italian Finance Police – who were investigating allegations of a connected multi-million euro money laundering scheme, with suggested links to both the Italian Mafia-style crime organisation the Ndraghenta and the IRA.
At that time the Italian police force also set about tracking down former IRA man Harry Fitzsimmons, who was then heading up the VFI Overseas Property estate agents - who were promoting the sale of Jewel of the Sea holiday homes in Britain and Ireland. He has denied any wrong-doing.
Since that point the resort, which had only been partly developed, has remained a building site.
And the investors - who paid a hefty initial sum to own a part of it, in the understanding that they would be enjoying Sangria on the balconies of their completed holiday homes by 2009 – have spent years out of pocket, out of property and fighting to reclaim their lost thousands.
“Our clients quite happily parted with their money for deposits to sign off a preliminary contract on their Jewel of the Sea properties in 2007 and 2008, which provided for a completion of this five star luxury holiday homes complex by June 2009,” David Niven, a partner at London-based law firm Penningtons Manchees, who represented 100 investors in the group action at the High Court last month, told The Irish Post
“Some 57 people among our clients in this case are from southern Ireland,” he added, “men and women – largely couples – who make up a group action regarding unfulfilled purchases made for the Jewel of the Sea development.”
He explained: “The claims are for professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of trust, against London-based Italian lawyer Gabriele Giambrone and his business, who acted for our clients in their purchases of off-plan properties in the holiday home development in Calabria.”
He added: “The development was not completed within the timescales contractually and the Jewel of the Sea development has since been seized in an Italian prosecution of its promoters and builders amidst allegations that the transactions were part of an alleged money laundering scheme.
“Our clients’ claim is to recover monies they have paid and lost - typically ranging between about 40,000- 120,000 euros - in the failed transactions, in each case equal to 50% of the purchase price of the property.”
Mr Niven, who has been involved in the case for two and a half years, claims the ongoing legal battle has been wearing on his clients – many of whom are older - with some having passed away during the process.
“There have been some really sad cases,” he admits, “these people have been really let down and we hope to get a result for them.”
Regarding that result, the solicitor claims this month’s High Court ruling is unlikely to be the end for his clients – as the insurance company who underwrote Giambrone’s Jewel of The Sea clients’ transactions has already proved reluctant to pay out on their policies.
“Following the conclusion of the three week trial we now await judgment and my clients are hopeful that that the Judge will find Giambrone culpable for the loss of their substantial deposits, running collectively to millions of pounds,” he explained.
“But even then there is still much work to be done to obtain compensation, as the Giambrone defendants are already in default of orders of the court to pay costs awarded to my clients and their insurance company, AIG, contends it is it not legally required to compensate them either.
“That position, adopted by such a large company, seems incredible, especially given the vast sums they have spent on defending this case.”
He added: “If AIG do not alter their position, my clients will be forced to incur liability for more legal costs as well as prolonging the misery they have already suffered for over eight years, as they will eventually have to commence a case against AIG to try and force them to provide insurance cover”.
