Puerto Banús traders to appeal to Spain's Supreme Court over long-running terrace dispute

A group of business owners in Puerto Banús is set to appeal to the Supreme Court against the ruling which validates their terrace rental contracts. Following the decision of Malaga’s provincial court, which recognises private ownership of the streets in the marina, local business owners claim that the issue "has not been resolved" as there are three legal proceedings still open. This is a conflict that has been going on for several years and on which several rulings have already been issued both in favour and against these businesses.

As SUR has previously reported, this new ruling by the province's highest court comes on top of "around twenty" favourable court rulings that confirm the validity of the rents, according to representatives of the marina. However, traders intend to "continue defending [their] interests", as highlighted by Balms Abogados, representatives of the tenants in this conflict, which began in 2019.

The law firm has explained that the judgement will be appealed before the Supreme Court as the traders are not satisfied with the arguments given in the latest ruling. "With all due respect, we consider that the criteria of the provincial court has not been correct, because it does not take into account the evidence that was used in the first instance ruling, a certificate issued by Marbella town hall that establishes that it is a public road".

The firm went on to say, "We are surprised that the provincial court said that the status of being a public road is suspect. It is a proven fact, a document issued by a public administration, which is the only one that can certify the urban qualification, however the sentence argues that this is not enough.”

For Balms Abogados, the issue "has not been resolved" as there are three legal proceedings open in the administrative courts. They say that in one of them the court is asked to enforce the agreement of a council meeting that took place in 1995, which declares the nature and use of the public domain in the roads and terraces of Puerto Banús. "This will settle the matter definitively, the intention of the traders is to continue defending their interests," they stressed.

The conflict began in 2019 following a complaint from several tenants, who considered that their terraces occupied public and not private roads, so the rent would not be valid. "The origin of this dispute is not legal, but purely commercial," the marina explained, and insisted that this ruling "clearly settles the issue, recognising the domain in favour of the port, and providing legal certainty for its commercialisation".