The Court of First Instance Number 1 of Arrecife has sided with a couple from the island and has annulled the IRPH from their mortgage, which until recently was the second most used reference index after the Euribor, but with a much higher cost. The ruling, issued on December 15, has also annulled the clause relating to mortgage expenses and late payment interest and has ordered the bank to pay all amounts unduly charged, plus legal interest from the date of each payment, as well as the payment of court costs.
The ruling has been disseminated by the office of Lawyer Alicia Martín Borreguero, who has handled this lawsuit, and who highlights that it is the first ruling on the island and one of the first in Spain to annul the IRPH (Mortgage Loan Reference Index) after the latest pronouncement to the contrary by the Supreme Court.
"Only a few rulings nationwide have obtained the annulment of the IRPH, such as the one in Ibiza, or the one in Córdoba, after the pronouncement of the Plenary of the Supreme Court on October 21, 2020. This decision of the High Court appreciated the lack of transparency of the IRPH for not having informed the client of the evolution of the index in the two years prior to signing, but, however, ruled out abusiveness. A controversial decision that many consider violates European regulations, national regulations, and even the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court itself," says the office, which points out that this same lawyer "also obtained in January 2019 another important ruling regarding the IRPH against the criteria of the Supreme Court, when she then argued that the mere reference to an official index, as is the case of the IRPH, did not imply a lack of transparency or abusiveness."
Now, the ruling of the Court of Arrecife, against which an appeal is still possible, declares the nullity of the clause that established a variable interest using the IRPH as a reference and orders it to recalculate all the interest using the Euribor and to return the amounts charged above that limit.
From the law firm in Arrecife, they emphasize that the use of the IRPH can mean an average of between 200 and 300 euros per month more in mortgages. Therefore, lawyer Alicia Martín Borreguero recommends reviewing the conditions and possible abusive clauses of mortgages with a specialist, and encourages lawyers to "fight for consumers in this matter, against banking entities"; since she considers that "there is an open door for judges, who can follow the reasoning expressed in the dissenting opinions of the judgments of the Supreme Court itself, and this does not contradict the criteria of Europe, since the Court of Justice of the European Union indicated that the circumstances of each case should be assessed." However, this lawyer recognizes that it is "a difficult fight of David against Goliath."
