Access Real Estate SC is facing five suits at different benches of the Federal High Court, seeking refunds of deposits paid for houses, which the company has failed to deliver.
The company, established in 2008 by 652 shareholders with a capital of 35 million Br, has received partial and full payments from 2,000 clients wishing to buy houses, which were to be built in various parts of the city, including; CMC Ayat, Lafto Gerji, Bole, Lebu, Alem Bank and Betel.
All the plaintiffs filed their charge with a summary procedure and the Court accepted all charges to be seen as such.
Seble Reta, one of the plaintiffs claimed that she had paid the company 1.375 million Br, the total payment for a three bedroom house. She made the payment in two installments; the first, a sum of 702,500 Br on November 8, 2010, and then later, 672,500 Br on November 11, 2010. She claimed that the company had agreed to refund her money in installments, over June, July and August of 2012. She claims that all she has received from the company thus far, however, is 30,000 Br.
She sued the company on March 25, 2013, demanding a total of 1.82 million Br, including 15pc interest; noting that the 30,000 Br she already received would be deducted from this sum. Three days later, she successfully applied for an injunction against an Access-owned house in Bole, which she claimed the company was about to sell.
The sixth bench judge, Hussein Yimer, passed the injunction over to the Bole District Title Deed Administration Transitional Period Service Project Office, on March 28, 2013.
The other two plaintiffs, Sami Mohammed and Aster Reta, who filed through their lawyer, Getachew Kitaw, accused Access Real Estate of issuing three cheques at three different times, all of which bounced. Ermyas Amelga, chief executive officer of Access Real Estate, signed two cheques for the sum of 500,000 Br, at two different times, for each of the plaintiffs, they claimed.
Then came another cheque for each, for a sum of 363,985.30 Br. This time they were told that the company’s account at Zemen Bank had insufficient funds.
The Judge seeing the cases has scheduled them both for May 13, 2013.
Mulugeta Mebratu and his wife, Adanech Lakew, also claimed 585,000 Br from Access Real Estate in another suit. Their claim includes 450,000 Br for the sum they paid and 15pc as a penalty, based on the agreement they said they had with the company. The agreement, according to the charge, also would have had the clients pay three percent of the price of the house, if it were they that defaulted.
Mulugeta and Adanech declared, on their statement of claim, that Access Real Estate had told them construction would begin within four weeks, when they first asked for a refund.
Shemsu Sirgaga, the sixth bench Judge has scheduled them for a hearing on April 18, 2013.
The fifth plaintiff, Kebede Gebrehiwot, also put in a claim to the Court for a 1.37 million Br charge.
All assigned judges for the filed charges have ordered Access Real Estate to respond within 10 days of receiving the charges. Failure to do so will have the Court see the cases without the attendance of the defendants.
Other clients, as well as shareholders of the company, have also been holding meetings to try to find a solution for the company’s failure to deliver the houses.
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