The Fourth Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has dismissed the appeal filed by Vip Boat Sitges, upholding in full the sentence that orders the company to pay more than €93.000 to the Pasito Blanco Marina for unpaid mooring fees. The court ruling rejects the debtor company's attempt to reduce the debt by invoking the rebus sic stantibus clause, citing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by the management company of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana marina, claiming unpaid rent for the use of the nautical facilities and services provided to the vessel. In the first instance, the Commercial Court Number 1 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria fully upheld the claim and ordered the boat's owner to pay €93.544,50, as well as the monthly fees that would continue to accrue until the vessel's actual removal, plus legal interest and court costs.
In its appeal to the Provincial Court, Vip Boat Sitges SL attempted to justify its non-payment by citing complications arising from the health crisis and alleged impediments caused by third-party banks and shipyards. However, the court rejected these arguments, noting that the involvement of third parties was not part of the original proceedings in the first instance, and therefore new issues could not be introduced on appeal under the procedural principle 'pendente apellatione nihil innovetur' (nothing is introduced pending appeal).
The judges clarified that the rebus sic stantibus clause—invoked to modify the terms of a contract in the face of an extraordinary and unforeseeable change in circumstances, such as a pandemic—cannot be raised as a mere defense or exception in the response to the lawsuit. Following the doctrine established by the Supreme Court, the Provincial Court reiterated that this legal mechanism requires having been actively exercised through the filing of a lawsuit or counterclaim, a procedure that the defendant company failed to follow. By categorically dismissing the appeal, the Provincial Court ordered the appellant to pay the costs of this second instance and forfeited the deposit made for the appeal, thus upholding the validity of the ruling that requires the company to settle the multimillion-euro debt with the Gran Canaria marina.
