The lawyer D. Francisco Granados Romero, of the Illustrious Bar Association of Málaga, has lodged an administrative court appeal against Manilva Town Hall over its handling of the eviction of 62 families, scheduled for 24 March.
The lawyer announced on social media that the appeal was registered at the Málaga courts on 19 March at 12:43, having previously submitted written complaints on 4 and 10 March warning, he states, of the situation of these families.
He denounces the “abandonment” of vulnerable families
Granados Romero maintains that the families affected are in a situation of “very special vulnerability”, including minors, people with disabilities and people with serious illnesses, some of them with reduced mobility.
In this regard, he accuses the Town Hall of failing to provide an effective response: “Public officials are there to provide solutions, not to give no response”, he says.
He asks for the eviction to be halted until real solutions are found
In the appeal, the lawyer asks the court to adopt urgent interim measures (medidas cautelarísimas) to prevent the families from being left on the street with no alternative.
Among other things, he asks that the eviction not be carried out until specific protection measures are in place, especially for the minors, including an immediate housing alternative.
He also requests the intervention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office because of the minors affected.
Direct criticism of the Town Hall’s response
The appeal is also directed against the reply issued by the mayor of Manilva on 11 March, in which the Town Hall maintains that it is acting within its powers and that the request submitted did not specify an administrative action that could be challenged.
The lawyer flatly rejects this position and says that clear measures were requested, such as an individual assessment of each family and the adoption of urgent solutions.
In his view, the Town Hall has merely issued reports without setting out real measures: “Empty words are not enough, specific measures must be adopted”, he says.
“If they cannot identify the case file, they are useless”
The lawyer’s tone hardens particularly when referring to the municipal response, going so far as to say that, if the Town Hall is unable to identify the case, “they are useless”, as part of his criticism of the administrative handling.
He also insists that the local administration, along with others such as the Diputación (provincial government), the Junta de Andalucía or the State, has not adopted effective measures despite the urgency of the situation.
“It is the last chance”
Granados Romero says that this appeal is “the last chance” to try to halt the eviction, after the Estepona court rejected a stay in the civil proceedings.
The lawyer also argues that this action could influence the ongoing court proceedings, by raising a preliminary question on the conduct of the administration.
Call to act “urgently”
The lawyer calls on the authorities to immediately activate the necessary mechanisms to prevent the families from being left on the street.
“What is the administration going to do with those children?”, he asks, insisting on the need for urgent and effective measures.
Meanwhile, the eviction remains scheduled for 24 March, pending whatever the courts decide.
