Torrox Town hall has to pay out 4.7m euros to a man now in his 80s for firing him 30-odd years ago – the judicial wrangling has been going on since then.

The said gentleman, Antonio Barragán, worked during the 70s and 80s as the Head of the Revenue Collection Department but in February, 1990, the then socialist mayor decided to fire him immediately for dereliction of duty over the 1988 and 89 accounts.

However, Sr. Barragán who now resides in Sevilla, pointed out afterwards that his contract contained a clause stipulating that he should have three months’ notice of being fired and took the Town Hall to court. Back then he was asking for the equivalent of twelve million euros in compensation.

In all this time, the municipality has had several land properties embargoed in the Calaceite area to cover the sum of the compensation should the demandant win the case.

In December, 2016, the provincial law courts found in favour of the claimant but reduced the sum from 12m down to 4.6m. Then the Regional High Court confirmed the sentence leaving no further appeal possible in November, 2017. But the Mayor decided to take the case to the Constitution Court, which sits above the High Court in certain circumstances.

Whilst waiting for the outcome of this last legal move, both parties agreed on the sum of 3.5m (1.2m had already been handed over nearly at the outset. The present Mayor considers that this represents a savings of seven million (if you calculate the original 12m asked for).

The opposition parties, do not agree… strangely enough.

(News: Torrox, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)