Fomento Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) has been ordered to pay 17,964.53 euros to the Lanzarote company Transportes y Excavaciones Tiagua, which it subcontracted to carry out works at the Lanzarote airport that it did not fully pay. The sentence has been issued by the Provincial Court of Las Palmas, which partially confirms the first instance ruling. Thus, it also agrees with Tiagua, although it upholds one point of the appeal filed by FCC, reducing the initial sentence from 22,898 to 17,964 euros.
The events occurred two years ago, when Aena awarded the execution of some works at the airport to FCC. This, in turn, subcontracted three companies to carry them out: Tiagua, Excavaciones Nazaret and Demoexca Canarias. At the end of the works, FCC refused to pay the last invoices submitted by Tiagua, alleging that the works for which it claimed those sums had been entrusted to the three companies.
Specifically, one of the discrepancies was in the demolition works, which FCC commissioned to the three subcontractors. In this regard, the Court concludes that there is not enough evidence to prove the execution of these works by Tiagua, since no joint measurements were made after the works were executed. For this reason, it reduces the amount that FCC must pay, partially upholding its appeal against the first instance ruling.
However, it ratifies the rest of the ruling. And it is that although it points out that "other subcontractors shared the execution" of a part of the works, it also considers it proven that Tiagua was "the only subcontractor that executed the rainwater drainage collectors, that is, the placement of drainage pipe." Thus, although in this case there are also no joint measurements by FCC and the subcontractor, it accepts those made by Aena when it paid for the work. Therefore, given that there is evidence that the works were carried out and that in this case they were entrusted only to Tiagua, it condemns Fomento Construcciones y Contratas to pay that part of the invoice. Thus, it will have to pay almost 18,000 euros, plus the legal interest generated since the works were completed.