Oristano I had debts of 319 thousand euros, the Oristano court stops the banks and saves a family. This is how we could summarize the story of a man from Oristano who risked seeing his house end up at auction and who was instead saved by the intervention of the judiciary. It was not a simple concession, but an act of justice that undermines the lightheartedness with which loans are often granted. The civil section of the courtwith an unusual sentence, has in fact canceled 207 thousand euros of debts contracted by a public employee, allowing him to maintain ownership of the house and to pay only what his salary actually allows.
The story
The story begins with the purchase of the house which turns out to be a bottomless pit due to the numerous works that need to be done to make it habitable and due to the serious problems with the systems. To fix it, the owner goes into debt until he reaches a deficit of 319 thousand euros. «With a salary of around two thousand euros a month, he found himself having to face installments of 1,600 euros: a situation that quickly became unsustainable while also having two children to support», explains the lawyer Giovanni Coronaswho together with his colleague Gianluca Coronas he fought for years for this result: «Initially we were only offered the sale of the property at auction, but we didn’t give up, not even when the debtor’s wife was diagnosed with a serious illness». To cancel the debt, the judge Andrea Bonetti dismantled the creditors’ complaints, including two well-known financial intermediation companies, with three very clear reasons contained in the sentence. In fact, he ascertained the fault of the banks: Article 69 of the Crisis Code establishes a severe principle for credit institutions and, if a financial institution grants a loan to someone who is already clearly too indebted, thus violating the obligation to carefully evaluate creditworthiness, it suffers a very heavy legal sanction.
The sentence
The sentence reads: «The granting of loans for a total of 75 thousand euros against a net monthly income of around 2,300, already burdened by previous sales, highlights shortcomings in the assessment of sustainability». According to the judge, in fact «the ratio between monthly installments and disposable income clearly exceeded the thresholds». In short, since the bank was imprudent, it no longer had the right to oppose the debt cut. The court ruled that debts should be paid only after guaranteeing a dignified life for the family. The judge writes: «The calculation of family expenses – 1,138 euros per month – for a family of four people appears appropriate and in line with the parameters of social dignity». Only what is left over from this amount is allocated to creditors. And then there is the rule of little better than nothing. With this ruling, the creditors unsecured or those without a mortgage they will only collect 10 percent of their credit. It seems like little, but the judge clarified that in the auction alternative: «The unsecured creditors would not obtain any satisfaction, while the plan offers them 10 percent. However, the proposal is convenient compared to the liquidation alternative.”
Thanks to this legal strategy, the debt was therefore reduced to an installment of one thousand euros per month for a duration of approximately ten years, at the end of which the rest of the sum will be canceled forever. «It is a story that tells the concrete functioning of a legal instrument that is still too little known – concludes the lawyer Giovanni Coronas -. It can avoid the loss of your home and offer a second chance to those who have fallen into debt through no fault of their own.”