LITIGATION · DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Litigation strategy begins long before a claim is filed. At Welllaw we handle complex civil and commercial litigation for companies, property developers, construction companies, business groups, investors and individuals, from the pre-litigation stage through to judgment and enforcement.

Our litigation team works hand in hand with the firm’s other practice areas. This combined legal and economic perspective allows us to assess the risks of each dispute and define the strategy through a single point of contact.

We act before courts throughout Spain, with a particular presence in Malaga, the rest of Andalusia and Madrid.

These are our litigation services:

Construction and real estate

  • Disputes arising from construction and works contracts: breaches, delays in performance and handover, suspension and abandonment of works, termination, final accounts, progress certificates, variations, cost overruns, penalties and damages.
  • Disputes between developers, contractors, subcontractors and the project management team (architects and engineers).
  • Claims for construction defects and liability of the parties involved in the building process.
  • Buyers’ claims against developers, and defence of developers and sellers.
  • Disputes over the enforcement of contractual guarantees, bank guarantees and retentions.
  • Fee claims by architects, engineers and other construction professionals.
  • Litigation arising from the sale and lease of property.
  • Coordination of technical and economic expert evidence.

Shareholder and corporate disputes

  • Challenges to resolutions of general meetings and boards of directors, including applications for interim relief.
  • Corporate and individual liability actions against directors, and liability for company debts.
  • Shareholders’ information and withdrawal rights, expulsion of shareholders and judicial dissolution of companies.
  • Corporate deadlock and disputes between shareholders and within family businesses.
  • Litigation involving associations, foundations and sports clubs, including challenges to resolutions and electoral processes.

M&A and business sale disputes

  • Claims for breach of representations and warranties in company sale transactions.
  • Disputes over price adjustments, deferred payments, earn-out mechanisms and completion accounts.
  • Claims relating to contingencies identified or omitted in the due diligence and to the information provided in the transaction.
  • Contractual indemnities, retentions and escrow deposits.
  • Breach of non-compete and lock-in covenants.
  • Representing buyers and sellers, in coordination with the firm’s M&A practice.

Breach of contract and commercial litigation

  • Claims for breach of contract, termination and damages.
  • Agency, distribution, franchise and supply agreements, including goodwill indemnity.
  • Disputes arising from financing transactions, loans and guarantees.
  • Non-contractual (tort) liability.
  • Unfair competition.

Inheritance and succession disputes

  • Challenges to wills and defence of their validity.
  • Disputes between heirs and forced heirs, claims for forced-heirship shares and actions to claim an inheritance.
  • Judicial division of estates and challenges to partitions.
  • Collation of gifts, abatement of excessive dispositions and disputes over the valuation of estate assets.
  • Succession disputes involving family businesses, shareholdings and complex estates.
  • Division of jointly owned property and termination of co-ownership.

Interim measures, appeals and enforcement

  • Pre-litigation negotiation, appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms (MASC) and settlement agreements.
  • Applications for and opposition to interim measures: preventive attachments, cautionary annotations of claims in the Land Registry and prohibitions on disposal.
  • Appeals before the Provincial Courts and cassation appeals before the Supreme Court.
  • Enforcement of judgments and other enforceable titles, and opposition to enforcement.
  • Asset investigation, tracing of assets and debt recovery.

How we work

  • Assessment. We analyse the background, the contracts and the evidence, and give you a realistic assessment of risks, timescales and costs.
  • Strategy. We decide with you whether to negotiate or litigate, and how.
  • Preparation. Formal demands, MASC, expert reports and the statement of claim or defence.
  • Trial. Preliminary hearing, taking of evidence and trial.
  • Appeals and enforcement. Appeal, cassation and enforcement of the judgment.

Head of practice

Hortensia Laqué Rupérez, partner at Welllaw, head of the Litigation and Insolvency practices and member of the Malaga Bar Association (no. 5618), leads complex civil and commercial litigation, in particular contractual, corporate and real estate disputes and disputes arising from business transactions. She is recognised by Best Lawyers® in Litigation and was named “Lawyer of the Year” in that category in 2021, 2023 and 2026, and Welllaw is ranked Tier 1 in Malaga for Litigation in Best Law Firms® – Spain 2027.

Facing a dispute or have you been served with a claim? Call us on +34 952 225 199 or write to us through our contact form.