Construction project in Ponte de Lima to proceed despite legal challenge
Rewritten Article:
Legal Battle Over Ponte de Lima Home Construction Project Continues
The Northern Central Administrative Court (TCA) has confirmed a 2022 ruling, declaring the nullity of the embargo imposed by the Ponte de Lima Chamber on a single-family home and agricultural land construction project. This allows the project to proceed, which has been embroiled in legal proceedings since 2016.
Back in January, the Supreme Administrative Court (STA) declined an exceptional appeal filed by the Viana do Castelo district council in July 2022, intending to standardize jurisprudence. This decision followed a January judgment by the TCA that struck down the embargo on the aforementioned construction project.
In a comprehensive 19-page ruling, the TCA North justified its decision, stating that since an admission of the appeal for uniformizing jurisprudence has already been denied, and no alleged prejudicial cause presented by the appellant is valid, the alleged error in the initial judgment was unfounded.
Regarding the public prosecutor's (MP) request to penalize the appellant for malicious litigation, the judges deemed it unwarranted. They argued that the MP lacked the grounds to raise the issue of the respondent's bad faith litigation.
"The public prosecutor's request to penalize the appellant as a malicious litigant is unjustified. In fact, upon reading the appellant's submissions, we are unable to discern the concrete reasons that support it," the ruling stated.
The judges of the Common Administrative Section of the Northern Central Administrative Court concurred, dismissing the appeal and upholding the initial ruling. They also denied the request to penalize the appellant as a malicious litigant, as formulated in the public prosecutor's opinion. The document assigned the costs of the process to the municipality.
In a statement today, the project owner expressed relief, saying, "Justice has once again been served."
When contacted by Lusa, the president of the Ponte de Lima Chamber, Vasco Ferraz, who was the urbanism councilor at the time, stated that "there's nothing more we can do."
"We will have to accept a bad verdict from someone who decided that a house can be built without the necessary documentation," the CDS-PP councilor remarked.
The TCA North's decision marks the fifth time that Edgardo Matos has received favorable rulings for his family's home construction project, which has been halted since 2020 due to conflicts with the Ponte de Lima Chamber. The licensing request was submitted in 2016, marking the beginning of the dispute between the two parties.
As for additional details or updates about the case, further research or contacting local Portuguese news outlets may provide more information. However, it's worth noting that the current status of the legal dispute remains unclear, and consulting legal databases or contacting local legal authorities in Portugal may offer the most accurate and up-to-date information.
Additional Reading: Firefighters in Ponte de Lima rescue an old mine dog. "Mission accomplished"*
The additional reading provided is unrelated to the original article but is a separate news story from Ponte de Lima, Portugal.
For the sake of brevity, the enrichment data about the lack of specific information regarding the case has been excluded, as it does not add value to the article when properly structured and rewritten.
- What is the current status of Edgardo Matos' family's home construction project in Ponte de Lima, which has been halted since 2020? The TCA North's recent decision marks the fifth time that Matos has received favorable rulings, allowing the project to proceed.
- In a comprehensive ruling, the judges of the Common Administrative Section of the Northern Central Administrative Court dismissed an appeal filed by the Viana do Castelo district council and upheld the initial ruling, declaring the nullity of the embargo imposed on Matos' construction project.
- The public prosecutor requested to penalize the appellant, Edgardo Matos, for malicious litigation, but the judges deemed it unwarranted, stating that they were unable to discern the concrete reasons that support such a claim.
- When contacted by Lusa, the president of the Ponte de Lima Chamber, Vasco Ferraz, who was the urbanism councilor at the time, expressed his disappointment, stating, "We will have to accept a bad verdict from someone who decided that a house can be built without the necessary documentation."
