A LAWYER has vowed to fight ‘step-by-step’ a new and potentially damaging development involving 57 British families who locked in a legal dispute over their Didim apartments.

London-based Turkish lawyer Burcu Orhan-Holmgren was left ‘shocked and angered’ after it was revealed a new creditor had suddenly emerged and produced a 15 million Turkish Lira Senet – or bond – against the Golden Beach Complex, at Imbat.

The unnamed creditor’s claim has, for now, trumped the British families who were believed to have been first in line after winning a series of landmark court victories and appeals all the way up to Turkey’s Supreme Court.

Golden Beach Complex

The families invested just over £3million in total for apartments at Golden Beach Complex. Coming from all over Britain, they ranged from elderly couples to young families.

But after the builder encountered financial difficulties, and the investors failed to get their property title deeds, they formed a class action as they feared they could lose their properties and investments.

Mrs Orhan-Holmgren, founder of London Legal International, pursued landowner Ahmet Akyel and builder Didim Design Group through the Turkish courts to get investors’ money refunded, or their title deeds issued.

Following appeals to Turkey’s highest court, the Supreme Court, judges ruled the families be handed back their money plus five years back interest on those investments.

In the time it took the High Court to confirm its decision as absolute and for the group’s solicitors to begin bailiff action for the Golden Beach Complex land to be auctioned off so the British investors can recoup their investments, a new and damaging episode in the saga occurred.

Mrs Orhan-Holmgren said that a ‘new’ creditor had emerged claiming the landowner opwed them 15 million Turkish Lira – the exact sum that the British families would have received as a result of the legal dispute.

Burcu Orhan-Holmgren

She said the Ankara-based creditor had, for the moment, become the number one creditor ahead of her clients.

She said: “The stark reality is that the very people that have been fighting for their apartments and money could now lose out altogether to this new creditor. But investigations are ongoing and we will fight step-by-step.

“We all had a conference call and we realized how more determined everyone is to keep going. I just want what’s fair and for the justice system in Turkey to work. I am not going to let this go. We will fight step-by-step this action and we’ll taking matters further.”

The 50 British families legal battle has been ongoing for more than six years.

Initially, at the heart of the case was a contractual agreement made between the landowner and the builder. Under normal circumstances in Turkey, the builder agrees to build on the land and, by way of payment for the land, hands over a percentage of properties to the landowner to sell on for their gain.

In this case, the landowner claimed the contract was of this type, so he declined any responsibility towards the British families.

However, Mrs Orhan-Holmgren said the builder had effectively entered into a joint agreement with the landowner to ‘project build and sale’. She said: “That has been our argument from day one: the landowner was not simply going to get apartments, he was a partner in the project with the builder even though this wasn’t clear in the carefully worded contract between the builder and landowner.

“The High Court held the landowner jointly responsible and equal to that of the developer, even though the investors’ contracts were with the developer. As the builder had nothing to offer to our clients, the onus lay on the landowner to refund my clients.”

Following the end of the legasl dispute, Secil Can, a lawyer for Mr Akyel, had said: “We are happy to transfer the title deeds to the British investors, but the court ruled the group’s monies have to be returned. We aren’t happy with this and plan on appealing.”