The PERVERSION of the Legal System on the North Coast

The legal system here on the North coast is a compete joke.

This morning there were trucks loading the lobby furniture of a big local AI hotel, the result of an 'embargo' granted by a judge who is probably getting paid off by the lawyers handling some frivolous lawsuit against the hotel.

While I don't know the details of this case, from our own experience I can tell you that the 'embargo' is probably the most abused legal avenue one can take when suing somebody. When you get 'embargoed' you know you are living in a 3rd world country.

It is designed to stop companies from moving assets during a lawsuit, however, if your lawyer is 'tight' with the judge you can get one against the other party as long as you are the one doing the suing (no matter how silly the lawsuit is).

This means they can take all movable furniture and assets and place them in safe storage in case they need to be auctioned if you lose the case. Now mind you, this is way before there is even a ruling.

If you have a good lawyer, he will see that you 'embargo yourself' (usually via a friend or someone you trust) to make it impossible for another party to embargo you.

The same thing happens when placing provisional mortgages on your property, also designed to stop companies from moving assets out of a company during a lawsuit. If the lawyer doing the suing knows the judge, it will happen against you. It does not matter if you are financially sound or own Fort Knox, the judge will place a mortgage on your property making your financial life miserable.

I know for a fact that there is a group of north coast lawyers and judges who decide who wins what amount before the court case even starts. All lawyers and probably 3/4 of the judges are in this little mafia system.

In one of our cases, people from the audience bench were allowed to pass notes to the other party's lawyers right smack in the middle of the court case. When our lawyer objected the judge said, 'well its hot in here today so we should be easy.'

I wonder what the tourists are thinking, with the removal of the lobby furniture. This is a big 600 room hotel.

MrMike said:

You are wrong and should stop spewing these hateful lies. The mafia you speak of is nation-wide, nothing even close to a north-coast phenomenon.

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ok you're right, its only about half the lawyers and some of the judges...yes its nationwide but in the upper courts in Santo Domingo it is definetly much better with cases getting ruled on merit.

but I like how you talk about my 'lies' and then agree that its nationwide..lmao.

dms3611 said:

...is an "easy" process. Like "anyone" can simply wake up in the morning and decide to embargo someone or some company. Doesn't work that way though you may believe it does. It really isn't something that can occur simply "overnight" ...it takes time to layout...is typically a cause of someone not paying their debt...and is typically a result of someone actually enforcing on a legal instrument that is in place.

I am not indicating, however, that a more favorable result will not occur depending on the attorneys you are working with....but isn't that the case in all countries? You get what you pay for.

As far as the case you are discussing ...if I was a big AI with 600 rooms, I think I would prefer to solve the case than to have my front room furniture taken....its really funny from my point of view...but i am sure a tad bit embarrasing to the hotel. If I was setting an embargo ...I would go after the backup generator...not some stupid furniture. This must not have been worth much. Hence....pay the money and avoid the hassle.

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Of course its not easy, but if you got the right lawyer who knows the judge it not much effort or money at all.

Dude, you got no idea, I have seen embargos given out like cheese at a wine tasting party. If your lawyer is tight with the judge, and even if your embargo has no merit, you can get it for less than RD 100K -and it will embarass the **** out of the other side.

BTW, the hotel in question did settle with the lawyers (who made all the money, not the client suing), after a 8hr stand off. A power generator???? you ever tried moving a 100 KW unit ? They take things that are easy to take, like lobby furniture or the hotel telephone computer system. Much more effective.

I spoke to the one of the owners of the hotel last night, and just as I thought, the embargo is complete bullchit and unjustifiable. It stems from an unpaid bill of a few thousand dollars to a supplier from the previous managment company of the hotel, from like 4 or 5 years ago. So I guess its not that hard to get an embargo, all you need is an unpaid bill! Now mind you, this is before any court case or ruling, you can just go into a hotel and seize property.

These lawyers are so bold, its unreal. To give you another example, we had an (ex) employee who resigned and moved off the island. Then we got notice that he is suing us for liquidation, saying he signed the resignation under 'duress.' When we called the ex-employee, he said he is not suing us and that those lawyers do not have power of attorney. Well guess what, those lawyers are suing us anyway, without his approval or power of attorney, just because we are a 'big' target. And how do they get this lawsuit filed on behalf of a client without a power of attorney? Well, ONLY A CORRUPT JUDGE WORKING WITH CORRUPT LAWYERS.

dms3611 said:

.....certainly look forward to my continued education "at the feet" of so many experts in here on this forum like yourself.

You are correct, I have "no idea". Having been in the DR for the past 12 years, owning and operating several companies in this country and in the surrounding islands, being directly involved with mining operations and in the fabrication of heavy industrial and mining equipment as a main focus of our core company group in the DR, I guess I have just "lost touch" with what is happening around me.

I am coming quick to the realization that without this board and experts like yourself that I would be "enevitably lost" in the legal maze that exists here....

Many Thanks!

Dave

P.S. Move generators all the time...500 KW and larger.

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If you cannot see that embargo's are being used and abused here on a frequent basis, by corrupt lawyers and judges, then you are blind. At least in the Puerto Plata area, but that was my whole point.

Perfect example right here:


www.elnacional.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=60192

2nd paragraph

dms3611 said:

....it may be abused if you owe people money and you don't pay for whatever reason (in your stated case the company bought out another company and therefore took on all the previous companies obligations).

However, you have to owe someone something....and there had better be a document/agreement somewhere.

For example, why don't I PM you and give you the name of one of my companies here and see if you can abuse me with an embargo? It's in POP area. Somewhat close to Maimon. Since I don't owe you anything, I know you will not be able to embargo anything. If I did owe you something , you would not be able to embargo quickly....and if I did owe you something, I would be stupid not to resolve the issue with you before the embargo (since a warning is supposed to be issued prior to execution).

Thanks!

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If I wanted to waste time and money on you, I would do it. I could create a fake invoice and sue you for nonpayment. Then get a judge to place an embargo so you don't hide assets during the suit. Or take your property like they did in the link on the above post from El Nacional newspaper.