A fatal miscarriage of justice has thrown the lives of an innocent family off course. A chain of wrong decisions and legal errors has led to Christin W. and her family having to demolish their newly built dream home.
One property, two owners
It all started with building a house. Christin (42) and Philip W. (43) from Rangsdorf had fulfilled their dream and were just about to move into their new home when they received the shocking news: The plot of land on which their house stood belonged to someone else.
The justice system was wrong. Eric S. (51), an American manager, had inherited the property from his deceased great-aunt. Despite the efforts of the W. family, he refused to sell the property. Brandenburg's Minister of Justice Susanne Hoffmann (63, CDU) confirmed: "His lawyer has stated that he is not prepared to sell under any circumstances."
Consequences of a faulty system
The Potsdam Higher Regional Court (OLG) finally ordered the house to be demolished because the Luckenwalde district court had not been diligent in its search for heirs. The W. family is now faced with the heartbreaking task of demolishing their house and looking for a new place to live. Added to this is a debt burden of 280,000 euros for the old property.
Fortunately, the Ministry of Justice intervened. After Minister Hoffmann promised compensation, the state is now covering the family's court and legal costs. The Ministry of Justice will also cover the costs of demolition, relocation and a new house. An expert appointed by mutual agreement is to determine the current value of the land and house.
A bitter aftertaste
Despite the financial support from the judiciary, a bitter aftertaste remains. What happened to the W. family is a tragic example of a system failure. It is to be hoped that such mistakes will be avoided in future so that no more families have to live through such nightmares. In conclusion, even if the legal system makes mistakes, it must take its responsibility and ensure that those affected suffer as little as possible.
