Investors in a failed southern Italian holiday property scheme are shortly to receive some £737,000 in damages following a court ruling in Belfast yesterday. Some of them paid large deposits of up to £100,000 five years ago for holiday homes which were not completed.
Mr Justice Burgess yesterday varied an injunction on the assets of Gabriele Giambrone who was involved in the scheme along with his firm Giambrone Law which last week admitted liability in court.
Counsel for insurance companies were in the Chancery Court, a division of the High Court, in Belfast yesterday, to seek the lifting of the injunction against Mr Giambrone.
Investors feared that his assets would be dissipated in advance of any settlement with the investors attempting to recoup their losses.
Patrick Good QC and David Ringland QC, counsel for two insurance companies, said the terms of the injunction meant that AIG and QBE insurers were also prevented from moving to compensate the Northern Ireland investors. They pressed for the injunction not to be extended.
Disclosure
Counsel for the investors, Frank O’Donoghue QC, told Mr Justice Burgess he was seeking an extension of the injunction which was granted last month and an application for full disclosure about Mr Giambrone’s assets.
The court heard claims that Mr Giambrone was not resident in the UK, and only had a share in some minor bank accounts as well as rights to a share in the proceeds of an orange grove.
The Northern Ireland investors, who paid deposits for properties in two holiday developments, called El Caribe and Jewel of the Sea, question this.
They are also angry that Mr Giambrone also posted on his Facebook page claims that he would ensure the investors get nothing.
“He intends to do whatever he can to ensure clients get as little as possible,” Mr O’Donohgue told the court, adding that the developer had not since resiled from that position despite the widespread availability of the comments posted by him on the social networking website.
After protracted court discussions which involved recesses during which counsel for the parties discussed the case, Mr Justice Burgess said the injunction against Mr Giambrone would remain in place but with two added variations which would facilitate the payment to some of the Northern Ireland investors of approximately £737,000 damages. Costs have yet to be decided.
The payments relate to one of the holiday developments, at El Caribe, but many investors in the Jewel of the Sea scheme said they were encouraged at the developments.
Solicitor for the investor, Simon Chambers of Russell and Co Solicitors, said it was “the best day in court for five years” as far as his clients were concerned.
“I am absolutely delighted. After five years of battling courageously to secure the return of monies which were wrongfully moved out of their reach by the developer have been awarded to them by the court today.
“We will continue to pursue the insurers for all of the legal costs associated with this action.”
Mr Chambers said Mr Giambrone appeared to be “catastrophically under-insured”.