Darragh MacAnthony to Appear in Court
Considered by many to be the poster boy for gluttonous overseas property indulgence in the boom times, Irishman Darragh MacAnthony has been summoned to appear in court in Andalucia on April 25th 2012 (see the result of this case here). The appearance is to defend the actions of his company, MRI Overseas Property, which sold property in a variety of markets across the world. It is claimed that MacAnthony, along with other MRI executives, did not deliver furniture packs for which clients paid. MacAnthony has defended himself by claiming that the companies supplying the furniture packs went under following full payment by MRI and that his company was also left significantly out of pocket by the events. This is a defence strongly denied by his accusers.
Back in mid-2011 MacAnthony claimed that the court case was ‘thrown out’ in Madrid when it was, in fact, relocated to Marbella on the basis that jurisdiction for the case was deemed to belong there as that was where MRI was based at the time of the actions on which the accusations are based.
MacAnthony has been living in Orlando, Florida for some time so it is unknown whether he will actually attend to defend his company’s actions or not. He has been heavily promoting his philanthropic activities over the past number of years (see picture from Helping Hands Group website), which clients of MRI claim is an attempt to paper over the cracks of a reputation that has been very badly tarnished by his actions at MRI. Former clients of the company have also expressed extreme frustration and anger that MacAnthony, owner of Peterborough United Football Club, taunts his accusers with his opulent lifestyle. He continues to live in a luxury property, drives around Orlando in a convertible Bentley and frequently jets into the UK to see Peterborough play. This has rubbed salt into the wounds of those who accuse his company of swindling them out of meagre savings and pensions.
There is a support forum for MRI clients at www.mri-sg.org. The group is being represented by Antonio Flores, who has been the butt of a number of jibes from MacAnthony over the duration of this case. Darragh MacAnthony’s own views on the situation can be found on his blog at www.darraghmacanthony.com. He was quite vocal in his own defence at one stage but the blog has seen very few updates in recent months.
From the Olive Press, click link to view.
Note:
The text of the Olive Press article was removed from the site in February 2013 following a threatening solicitor’s letter from Mr. MacAnthony’s most recent legal representatives, Pinder Reaux, claiming defamation. The removal of this text should not be taken as an admission of wrongdoing of any description. It would appear that Mr. MacAnthony and his legal representatives are treating Judge Beatriz Fernandez’ decision to throw out the case against him on the basis of lack of jurisdiction as absolving MRI and its directors of any duty of care for MRI’s former clients. This decision is currently being appealed by MRI’s former clients via their solicitor, Antonio Flores, of Lawbird Legal Services.
Further Note:
You’ll see from the photo of Darragh MacAnthony and his wife Natalie not attached to this post that we received a spurious DCMA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) Takedown Notice from Darragh MacAnthony’s new lackey, Joe Dent (photographer for Peterborough United), claiming that he owns copyright on the photo in question. The DCMA Takedown Notice is much beloved of organisations and individuals that do not like the information that circulates about them in digital media. The Church of Scientology, for instance, regularly uses the Act to remove articles about it that it does not like from around the Web.
If you have any queries for Mr. Dent on why he felt the need to issue such a notice you’ll find him at:
Joseph Dent, 91 Wesleyan Road, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, Cambs, England, PE1 3RX.
Email: joe.dent@theposh.com; Phone: 0044 (0)7867 873221
While we’re contesting the DCMA the picture will remain off the site.
