Almegue Project – Overview since 1996
The main events – facts, developments and legal issues – of the Almegue project from 1996 up to to-day; a time-line, including (11-15-2024 – administration):
The approval of the Almegue project by the Assembleia Municipal of Serta
1. The contract with the Camara of Serta for the development of the Almegue project (5 condominium and about 350 houses), signed in 1996 – Doc 3, 0152 (land contracts), 52 (protocol is contract)
2. The construction of various chalets in the period 1997-1999 by Transes International Ltd, Transes Investments Ltd and Lusaldeia Lda, allowed by the Camara of Serta as part of the contract. Doc 5
3. The insurance agreement made with Fidelidade in 1997 (Santarem office) for insurances for all the chalets in the project, from the start of the construction by Lusaldeia., Lda; in 2000 all already closed contracts transferred to Transes International SA, the new holder. Doc 102
4. Various chalets sold via promised legal contracts by Transes International Ltd and Transes Investments Ltd in Ireland to promised buyers – 1997-1999
5. The approval of the urbanization plan and project in 1996 by the Assembleia Municipal of Serta, and all responsible Portuguese governmental planning institutions. All in accordance with the signed contract. Doc 4
6. In 1999 the Almegue project is transferred from the Irish Transes companies to new founded SA companies in Luxembourg – Transes Holding SA, Transes Investments SA (owner of all properties), Transes International SA, the in Portugal working company. Company loan of 8 million Euros. Doc 1c, 88
The refusal of the Portuguese State to ratify the approved urbanization plan.
7. The refusal of the final ratification of the urbanization plan by the Portuguese Government in the period 1999-2003 resulted in a legal process in the administrative court of Coimbra started by the Transes organization. Doc Annex III, VI, VII, IV
The new POACB allowing a small version of the approved project
8. The new POACB of May 2003 included only a small part (area of condominium one) of the by the Assembleia Municipal already approved urbanization plan and project in February 1999.– Doc 6
9. In 2000 – 2003 increasing problems with the promised buyers dissatisfied with the long ratification procedure of The Portuguese Government.
Illegal cancellation of the insurance contracts by Fidelidade in cooperation a with a group of promised buyers in 2001/2002 – a criminal act.
10. In 2001-2002 Fidelidade canceled illegally all the insurance contracts for the chalets based on falsified insurance cancellation cards wrote, signed and send by the promised buyers in name of Transes International SA, the holder of the insurance contracts, . Doc 2, 10. annex 2
11. Fidelidade canceled the insurance contracts, and at the same time Fidelidade substituted the Transes International SA insurances by new and similar insurance contracts, made in name of the promised buyers, on properties legally owned by the Transes companies; A criminal action from the promised buyers and Fidelidade together. Doc 2
12. First wildfire in July 2002 destroying 3 chalets in a by Fidelidade created situation of various double insurances for the same properties belonging to the Transes company Group. Doc 12
13. Damage payment was finally made by Fidelidade to Transes International SA – the Velder case with double insurances – in the beginning of 2003. All in accordance with general contract conditions of 2002. Doc 70, 23
14. In the summer of 2003 Fidelidade canceled the remaining house insurances of Transes International without any legal reason, probably to solve the case of double insurances definitely. Doc 2, 84
15. Since 2003 up to now (2023) there have been no direct contacts and communications between the Transes companies and Fidelidade. E.g. Transes Letters send after the wildfire in 2017 were never answered. Doc 25
16. Jan van Es resigned as CEO of the Transes companies in October 2003. Doc 2, …
Resolution of the promised contracts of a group of Dutch promised buyers (2004)
17. Start of a court case in Breda, the Netherlands, by the promised buyers in January 2004 in order to robe the Almegue project and to bankrupt the Transes companies – court process from 2004-2006, including appeal. Process, lost by the promised buyers. Doc 13
It was also the start of serious hostilities by a group of promised buyers not satisfied with the long waiting time for the ratification of the urbanization plan and project by the Portuguese government.
18. The resolution of the promised contracts of the promised buyers by the Transes companies in January 2004; However, the promised buyers refused to return the chalets to the Transes companies. Doc 11, 418
Refusal to return the chalets by the promised buyers after the legal contract resolution – Start of a Legal process in the Lisbon court.
19. From 2004 on it blocked the further development of the Almegue project in the POACB area (condominium 1, where all chalets were build)
20. Large financial damages caused by the previous promised buyers in blocking the development of the Almegue project since 2004 (First blockade – Financial damage up to 2015 for the Transes Group more than 7 million Euro. Doc 78, 102
21. Start of a Court case in Lisbon by the Transes companies against the promised buyers in 2004, after the resolution of the promised contracts. Doc 80, Annex I
Start of a legal process by Transes International SA against Fidelidade for the illegal contract cancellation in the Santarem court (2004) – proc 2270/04.6TBSTR.
22. In 2004 the start of a legal process by Transes International SA against Fidelidade for the illegal cancellation of the insurance contracts, and requesting the removal of the insurance contracts of third parties (previous promised buyers) on the properties of Transes Investments SA. Fidelidade was forced during the process to provide all relevant information to the court. Doc 84, Annex II
Change of the ownership of the Almegue project and build chalets (2005 -2015)
23. In 2004 Transes International SA and Transes Investments SA stopped with its project activities in Portugal, and left the country in the same year.
24. Jan van Es became after 2005 the legal owner of the part of the Almegue project included in the POACB (previous condominium 1) – Sales contract in 2005 signed in Luxembourg; Escritura of the project lands in 2015. Doc 14
25. Transes Investments Ltd in Ireland was dissolved in 2008. Doc 89
Sentence of the Santarem court in 2014 against Fidelidade – all cancellations were illegal – 7 illegal canceled contracts restored – 2002 general contract conditions
26. Sentence of the Santarem court in 2013/2015: Seven of the in 2001/2002 illegally canceled contracts must be restored; unfortunately, the insurance contracts of the previous promised buyers stayed active (creating double insurances again), and caused large problems after the wildfire in 2017.
27. According to the Santarem Judge no problems, as the Transes insurance contracts were made before the ones for the previous promised buyers (working of article 18 of the General Conditions), who will be invalid in case of insurance incidents covered by the double contracts. Doc 23
28. Finally, the sentence includes a large number of by the court approved process data and facts about the project and the companies, useful as it is a substitute for many documents. Doc 2
Moreover, to avoid any misunderstanding: The Judge declared in his sentence that all the Transes insurance contracts (13) were illegally canceled, of which 7 contracts must be restored. Excluding the insurance contracts canceled by Fidelidade in 2003 (lote 15, lote 32 and lote ….) without reason. In total 16 cancellations.
The corresponding statement in the IP (article 28) that the cancellation was the result of no-payment of the premiums, is, as many statements in this I.P, simple false (one of the many lies of the Fidelidade lawyers in this process)
29. The Santarem sentence is an integral part of the contest against Fidelidade, in the Consignment in Deposito process in Castelo Branco, and other future legal actions to claim the wildfire damage of 2017 from Fidelidade SA. Doc 2
Sentence Lisbon court 2015/2016 – invalid promised contracts – reversal previous contract transactions – no valid insurance contracts any longer – process 15/04.0TBCBR
30. Sentence Lisbon court in 2015/2016; The Judge states, that all previous made and signed promised contracts with previous Transes companies (in Ireland, period 1997-1999) are invalid – all previous transactions must be reversed; although the promised contracts were already legally resolved in 2004 and therefore did not exist any longer at that time.! Strange. Doc 3, 59 (leave houses!)
As a direct consequence, the in 2002 for the previous promised buyers by Fidelidade issued insurance contracts on properties of the Transes Group in the Almegue project became at the same time invalid, as definitely legally no property rights existed any longer (see Decree law 72/2008 of 16 April, articles 43 and 44)
31. Liquidation Transes Investments SA in Luxembourg by its owners in 08-07-2015, with no credit harm to external creditors. doc 82, 86 . Not surprising for a dedicated company without income from 1999 on and so far financed only by its shareholders.
New revised project plan for Almegue – 2015-2017
32. Jan van Es, since 2005 the new project owner, could finally start in 2016 with the development of a revised project plan – First blockade finished. (condominium 1 allowed by the POACB of 2003). Doc 76, 77 , 85
33. Escritura of the Almegue project lands in accordance with the sales contract of Jan van Es in 2015. Doc 14, 16, 17
34. The adapted plan for the Almegue project made in cooperation with the Engineering firm Engenharia 6000 in Serta became ready in the beginning of 2017 for getting a final project approval and a construction license from the Camara of Serta; all supported by the President of the Camara of Serta, Mr. Nunes. Doc 8, 9
The wildfire of June 17/18 of June 2017 – complete destruction of the Almegue project
35. In June 2017 the large Wildfire of Central Portugal destroyed 13 of the 15 chalets in the Almegue project in development directly and completely; 2 others became later in an unrecoverable condition. A financial damage of 3.6 million Euro, and moreover the loss of the financial collateral available for a small bank loan needed for the restart of the Almegue project. Doc 41
36. After the wildfire in 2017, Fidelidade was very well informed by Transes International SA about possible invalid and double insurance contracts, and the possibility of resulting invalid damage claims; Transes letters were never answered; Fidelidade still refused to restore the original insurance contracts as ordered by the sentence of the Santarem court. Doc 25
Fidelidade did not restore the insurance contracts as ordered by the Santarem court before and/or after the wildfire – so not ever at all!
37. Probably, the original insurance contracts hold by Transes International SA, not being restored before the wildfire, could legally not being restored any longer after the wildfire in June 2017, as it would or might violate the Portuguese insurance law, that is:
38. A valid insurance contract can only be issued if the policy holder or insured party has got an interest in an existing property, etc. And in this case the properties of the Almegue project were all destroyed and did not existed any longer. (articles 43, 44 of Decree law no 72/2008, 16 of April – The Law of insurance contracts, further named LIC)
A critical legal problem/issue for Fidelidade, solved at the end in Jan/Feb 2018, with the deliberate issue of invalid insurance contracts; all in violation with the Portuguese insurance law, but at that time unknown to Transes and Drs Jan van Es. Also no attention from the lawyers involved in this case, as it happened before the start of any legal process.
Fidelidade issued fraudulent insurance contracts for the destroyed chalets in Jan/Feb 2018 – 8 month after the fire – violations of the Portuguese insurance contract law (LIC).
39. Finally, after the threat with a new court case in the Santarem court, Fidelidade send in February 2018, 8 months after the wildfire, insurance premium payment requests (aviso -receibos) from 2001/2002 on to Transes International SA. Doc 21
40. Transes International SA, the holder of the insurance contracts, refused to accept these contracts as the restored original contracts and to pay the requested premiums for the following reasons:
1. According to the Aviso-Receibos the premium payment (black mail) was for new insurance contracts (as written), starting in 2001/2002, with new contract numbers.
2. The normal (annual) contracts legally required information was completely missing (no policy holder, no insured property, no insurance type (Ramo), and no insured capital/credit values, no risk to cover, etc. (See: next to the articles 43,44 and 49, also the articles 18-22 and the lack of good faith; all these relevant articles of the LIC have been violated.)
3. The new insurances were now from a later date than the ones made for the previous promised buyers, and lost their priority as stated in the sentence of the Santarem court.
4. No relation with the previous insurance contracts; no indications that the general contract condition of 2002 had been respected and how.
41. It was not before more than one year later (2019) that it became clear, with the legal process Fidelidade started in the CB court, to Jan van Es and Transes International SA that the new insurance contracts issued by Fidelidade in 2018 were regarded as the restored original ones for the previous destroyed properties with the same insured capital values (violation of article 49 of the LIC) as the ones for the years 2001/2002 (price level 1997-1999).
42. So, in other words the original insurance contracts hold by Transes International SA were never restored as ordered by the court of Santarem in the legal process 2270/04.6TBSTR. Document 2
Moreover, the mentioned newly issued insurance contracts above (points 37-40) are legally fake and invalid insurance contracts being in violation with the Portuguese insurance contract law – a fraudulent and possible criminal action. Probably the reason why all the legally normal contract details, as included in the original contracts, were missing. Doc 50, Annexes 2, 3 ,4
43. Jan van Es was again appointed as director of Transes International SA in 2017 to deal with the insurance payment problems, but the issue of the new invalid insurance contracts issued at the beginning of 2018 was not known at that time. Doc 25, 1a, 52-58.
Fidelidade refused to deal with the insurance financial damage case in accordance with the 2002 general contract conditions
44. From that time on Fidelidade started again, after the Santarem court case, with a large number of violations of the (fake) insurance contracts and prevailing General Conditions of 2002, and without making any damage payment. Doc 29, 23
45. Therefore, it resulted at the end of 2017 in a new blockade of the development of the Almegue project, this time caused by Fidelidade refusing the payment of the damage claim that could have replaced the lost collateral for the start up financing of the project.
The Breda court case in the second half of 2018
46. With no reasons for not paying the financial damage since the end of 2017, Drs Jan van Es, the private owner of the Almegue project and the included house properties, started privately a legal process in the court of Breda to get the financial damage paid – Second half of 2018. Doc 61, Letter of default of Dutch Lawyer
47. The Dutch lawyers of Fidelidade state in their surprising defense in court against the financial insurance claim as follows:
“Fidelidade wants to pay the damage but does not know to whom”
Introducing deliberately a false question
48. For the first time indicating the presence of more insurance contract holders for the same Transes properties in Almegue. So far unknown and not disclosed.
49. A complete nonsense and false statement as Fidelidade and its lawyers, if not stupid, know from the past Fidelidade court case, they lost, all the insurance contracts made in the past by Fidelidade (from 2001 on). Fidelidade also knows the sentence of the Santarem court and the included priority of the Transes Insurances in case of insured incidents.
At least the lawyers of Fidelidade know the Lisbon court process and what it meant for the insurance contracts (all became null and void). There are no doubts that only the Transes group has got the right on the damage compensation.
50. After that complicated statement, unfortunately, the Dutch court declared at the end of December 2018 and based on article 39 of the General contract conditions (arbitrage clause), put forward by the Fidelidade defense, in its sentence, not being competent to hear the case, and directed the case back to the arbitrage court in Portugal. Doc 60, 61
51. The Fidelidade lawyers hide in the Initial Petition to the court in Castelo Branco/Serta the use of article 39 – arbitrage as the basis for the Dutch sentence, – by not translating essential documents from Dutch into Portuguese, including the sentence of the Dutch Judge and the defense document of the Dutch Fidelidade lawyers, both mentioning explicit the use of article 39.
52. After that Transes International SA transferred in December 2018 irrevocable all its rights, etc. regarding the previous Santarem legal process and all the related insurance contracts for properties in the Almegue project to Drs Jan van Es (signed in Luxembourg ) Doc 40. It played no further active role in this dispute with Fidelidade.
The start of the “Acao Especial de Consignacao em Deposito, a Consignment in Deposit process” by Fidelidade in Feb. 2019 – still pending. Proc. Nº 736/19.2T8CTB
53. Within two month later Fidelidade started in the beginning of 2019 its own legal process – “Acao Especial de Consignacao em Deposito, a Consignment in Deposit process”. Without making any reference to article 39 – the required arbitrage of the general contract conditions that stopped the Breda process 2 month before. Doc 3
54. The Initial Petition includes various fake, false and not existing creditors and claims, and restricts the payable financial damage for the Transes properties to the insured capital values of 1997 with an base-less overall maximum damage payment (Consignment in Deposit) of about 1 million Euro, and that in 2019/2020.
55. The legal process was registered in the court in 2019 and still has not been started. It is now handled by the sub-court of Serta. The announced preliminary session has been postponed many times. No new date has been marked yet.
The in this process falsely included creditors/defenders, their insurance contracts and claims
56. At the moment of the wildfire (17/18 of June 2017), there were no valid insurance contracts available for any property inside the Almegue project.
57. The original insurance contracts hold by Transes International SA were never restored by Fidelidade, not before the wildfire on the 17/18 June 2017 and not after the wildfire up to now.(see point 42)
58. The ones from the 5 previous promised buyers, included as creditors/defenders were in any case not valid before and during the wildfire, very well known to Fidelidade and its lawyers.
59. All in accordance with and demonstrated by 3 different legal (court) processes handled before by Transes and various courts in the period 2004-2015:
1. In January 2004 the Transes organization canceled legally all the promised contracts – an irrevocable legal decision. No property rights results in no valid insurance contracts. Doc 11
2. The sentence of the Lisbon court in 2015, after appeal (following nr 1) – process 736/19.2T8CTB – declared the (already legally canceled) promised contracts invalid (no property rights, no valid insurance contracts (Doc 35), and finally.
3. The sentence of the Santarem court in 2014/2015 – process 2270/04.6TBSTR) – invalid insurance contracts of the previous promised buyers in insurance incidents as their contracts were made after the Transes insurance contracts.
60. It implies that at the time of the wildfire at the 17/18 of June 2017, the original insurance contracts hold by Transes International SA are the only valid ones in accordance with the sentence of the Santarem court, but at that time still not being legally restored by Fidelidade; a big mistake. Doc 29, 41
61. In Jan/Feb 2018, 8 month after the wildfire, Fidelidade issued new fake and legally invalid insurance contracts for the destroyed properties in Almegue, apparently in their view, being the restoration of the previous canceled original insurance contracts hold by Transes International SA, see the points 37-42. Doc 21, 50
62. Fidelidade send deliberately to Transes International SA these fraudulent insurance contracts, in violation with the Portuguese insurance law LIC (on not existing properties since 8 month, and without any interest, being not for one minute legal insurance contracts ) and requested the payment of premiums since 2001/2002 for these non-existing and illegal contracts. Another fraudulent act. Doc 21
Without payment, as stated explicitly, no treatment of the damage caused by the wildfire would be started. By the way, it all happened without any legal process at that time foreseen by Jan van Es and Transes International SA.
63. Fidelidade and its lawyers included in this process as the creditors/defenders for the Transes Group, Transes International SA, the since 1999 holder of the original insurance contracts of the Almegue properties, Drs Jan van Es, the owner of the Almegue project and all included properties, (2005-2015), and the since 2015 not-existing company Transes Investments SA,
64. The in 2001/2002 canceled original insurance contracts, hold by Transes International SA, and still not restored, as ordered in 2015 by the Santarem court, are not included in this process.
65. Instead, Fidelidade and its lawyers included the fake and non-existent insurance contracts issued in Jan/Feb 2018. (points 37-42). All contracts issued in violation of all relevant articles of the Portuguese insurance law .(Decree Law no 72/2008 of 16 April (LIC – law of insurance contracts)).
66. Therefore all the insurance contracts mentioned and handled by Fidelidade and its lawyers in this court process are fake, invalid and/or not existent at all. Doc 21
67. Marta Marcal, the lawyer who wrote the defense document for Transes International SA and Drs Jan van ES, already impugned the major part of the Initial Petition. With the present knowledge (2024) it should be extended to all insurance contracts, and all financial figures related to all the insurance contracts, introduced and handled by Fidelidade and its lawyers in this process. Doc 100
68. There is no legal relationship or any similar connection between the fake insurance contracts in this process and the by Fidelidade selected group of creditors/defenders as requested by the law for this special legal process.
69. The by Fdelidade and its lawyers selected special legal process – Acao Especial de Consignacao em Deposito – is legally not applicable in this case, as:
There is only one real creditor, Jan van Es, also representing Transes International SA, and one Debtor, Fidelidade SA, who simple must pay the caused damage in accordance with the law, it refused since the end of 2017 and since then dramatically increased to at least:
the estimated amount of 11.074.472,= (eleven million, seventy four thousand, four hundred and seventy two) Euro, with the possibility a further increase to 19,606,972 (nineteen million, six hundred and six thousand, nine hundred and seventy two) Euro
All other included creditors and their implicit financial claims in this process do not exist or are false, or both.
Fast growing Financial damage, Fidelidade’s baseless maximum incurance claim introduced in this process.
70. In 2018 Transes International SA requested a well known and reputable wood house construction company in Portugal – Casema – for a reconstruction budget for the restoration of the fully destroyed houses, as Fidelidade refused to make any real damage estimation.
71. In 2018 an estimated budget of 1.6 million Euro (price level 2017/2018) would be needed to reconstruct all the 7 destroyed houses. It should therefore be the total value of the insured capital value of the 7 destroyed and insured houses in accordance with article 15 of the general contract conditions for 2002. (art 49 of the LIC)
72. At the end of 2024, 7 years after the wildfire and no damage payment received so far, the financial insurance claim situation is completely different
73. At the moment the financial damage claim at the end of 2024 – reconstruction costs of the destroyed houses plus the collateral damages caused by Fidelidade itself (blocking the project finance) is estimated at least on 11.074.472,= (eleven million, 74 thousand, four hundred and seventy two) Euro
74. In case the project area for the Almegue project is not longer available in the new pending POACB (quite possible after 7 years without a start), the financial damage will increase in 2024 by at least 8.532.500,= (eight million five hundred and thirty two thousand and 500) Euros,
resulting in a total financial damage claim of 19,606,972 (nineteen million, six hundred and six thousand, nine hundred and seventy two) Euro. for which Fidelidade is fully responsible since the end of 2017.
75. It also implies that only van Es/Transes International SA remains as a real creditor with the original insurance contracts legitimized by the Santarem Court in its sentence, as it is not possible to restore these contracts after the fire (could easily have been done before the wildfire), and is therefore not a problem.
The contest of the other creditors/defenders invited by Fidelidade
76. Finally, the contest of Dr Gaspar Perreira for 5 previous promised buyers, who illegally canceled in 2001/2002 the insurance contracts of Transes International SA – a criminal act -, refused to return the houses after their promised contracts were legally canceled, spending 50% of their contest on the legal position of van Es/Transes International, claiming enrichment by Drs Jan van Es and the right of retention, all in spite of:
77. The five previous promised buyers, represented by Dr. Caspar Fereira, have no valid insurance contracts (see above) and therefore no claims. About 50% of the contest of that lawyer have been used to attack any Transes company with their own claims, which one is not clear.
Not having valid legal insurance contracts or valid legal insurance claims (See Santarem and Lisbon sentences) – they are fake and false creditors in this process, included by Fidelidade;
Having caused so far uncollectable damages of about 10 million Euros to the Transes companies in the period January 2004 until 2015 (Sentences Santarem and Lisbon courts). Doc I.P, 78, Annex J.
78. See document 102, including the net claims of the Transes companies in Luxembourg (totals minus the sales prices) on the previous promised buyers of 6.255.758,09 Euro, as a reaction to the sentence of Lisbon court of 2015 to be used in any process claiming the original sales prices of the promised contracts. from the companies in Luxembourg (the real claims will be higher in 2024)
No claim process was launched in Luxembourg against the Transes companies since the sentence in 2015, unless this process is used to make such a claim (if still within the legal time available).
Reminder: the contracting partner for the promised contracts before 1999 were the previous Transes companies, registered in Ireland (see the promised contracts).
79. Also why they believe it should legally be part of this special process is not clear and doubtful. In any case all the references made to any Transes company in this particular process should be impugned and rejected by the court. Doc 3, 101
(Comment: Part of the case evaluation report; The document numbers in the text refer to the official documents in the database available for this case)