Property Title Problems caused by Ladrone Lawyer and his Clients

[windeguy]

What about this situation where title is registered properly, but a Ladrone Lawyer and his clients try to steal the land?

In this situation, titles for various properties in a development have been registered in the Title Office by reputable lawyers working with reputable real estate companies. These are firms that are commonly mentioned here on DR1. These titles have been verified as being valid by the lawyers involved and additionally by personal visits by the owners themselves to the title registry office .

Then, out of the blue, some Lawyer from Santo Domingo comes along and says his client actually owns the property where people have been living for more than 10 years. Here are my questions:

How does the person with the already registered and validated title defend himself?

Can he sue these ladrones and his lawyer from Santo Domingo for damages and legal costs?

[Castellamonte]

If someone claims that they own the property you are residing on, they have to prove it. They will take you to court and they have the burden of proving their claim on the land. Assuming you are in the right, you will remain on the property.

Counter-suing for attorney fees and court costs is a completely different matter.

I had the exact same situation happen to me. I found a ranch. Guzman Ariza cleared the title and everything looked fine. I bought the ranch. I was sued about 1 year later by someone claiming the person selling me the ranch had no right to sell it to me.

I retained Guzman (Julio Brea) who defended us up to the Supreme Court. The cost was measured in thousands of dollars. We won. I asked Julio about suing for damages and he pointed out that the only person I could sue was the lady making the claim who had no money. So I dropped it.

Moral of the story: have a very good lawyer (like Guzman) and in some cases be prepared for your overall investment in the property to go up defending your rights.

[windeguy]

Castellamonte. Thank you for relating your personal experiences in this matter. I believe in this case that there are some "deep pockets" behind this activity.

From what you said, it appears that a counter-suit for damages can be brought in such cases if the person starting the frivolous suit loses and actually has some money. Does anyone have experience in such a situation?

[Fabio J. Guzman]

The new Land Registration Law 108-05 has a provision against frivolous lawsuits. I foresee no problems obtaining an award for damages in a countersuit based on that provision.

"Art. 31 de la Ley 105-08. Demandas temerarias y reparación de daños y perjuicios. Si queda demostrado durante el proceso la falta de fundamento de la demanda porque la misma haya sido ejercida con ligereza censurable o con el propósito deliberado de hacer daño, el juez podrá ordenar la reparación moral del perjudicado y la indemnización por daños y perjuicios correspondiente conforme a lo dispuesto por el Código Civil.

Párrafo. Sólo pueden introducirse demandas en reparaciones como parte de un proceso y no como acción principal, mediante una demanda reconvencional notificada al demandante principal por acto de alguacil en el curso del proceso.

[Castellamonte]

Originally Posted by Fabio J. Guzman

The new Land Registration Law 108-05 has a provision against frivolous lawsuits. I foresee no problems obtaining an award for damages in a countersuit based on that provision.

"Art. 31 de la Ley 105-08. Demandas temerarias y reparación de daños y perjuicios. Si queda demostrado durante el proceso la falta de fundamento de la demanda porque la misma haya sido ejercida con ligereza censurable o con el propósito deliberado de hacer daño, el juez podrá ordenar la reparación moral del perjudicado y la indemnización por daños y perjuicios correspondiente conforme a lo dispuesto por el Código Civil.

Párrafo. Sólo pueden introducirse demandas en reparaciones como parte de un proceso y no como acción principal, mediante una demanda reconvencional notificada al demandante principal por acto de alguacil en el curso del proceso.

"...the judge MAY order..." does not mean the judge will order and certainly doesn't mean the judge must order. The sad reality is that all too often I've seen judges who would just rather do nothing.