Balearic Government Ordered to Pay €85,226 in Interest Over Santa Eulària Bypass Land Expropriation

October 27, 2026

Nearly three decades after land was earmarked for the Santa Eulària bypass in Ibiza, a legal dispute over delayed compensation has resulted in a court ruling requiring the Balearic Government to pay a landowner €85,226.04 in overdue interest. The Balearic Islands High Court of Justice (TSJIB) ruled that the owner's right to claim the money had not expired, overturning the regional administration's refusal to pay.

The judgment, dated 30 September 2026, also provides for additional legal interest and court costs, subject to the limits established by the court.

A Land Expropriation Dating Back to 1997

The dispute began with the expropriation of private land required for construction of the Santa Eulària bypass. The preliminary record for taking possession of the property was drawn up in 1997, while an agreement between the landowner and the regional administration was reached in March 2007.

The compensation for the land, known as the justiprecio under Spanish expropriation law, was set at €194,207.05. This amount was paid on 31 January 2008.

A further €2,520.95 relating to the immediate occupation of the property was paid in December of the same year.

However, the owner maintained that additional interest was due because of the delay in paying the expropriation compensation. The subsequent dispute over that interest continued for years after the original payments had been made.

Repeated Claims for Unpaid Interest

According to the reporting on the court ruling, the landowner submitted repeated claims between 2012 and 2019, seeking payment of the outstanding interest. These included formal written submissions and correspondence with the regional administration.

The owner also made numerous telephone calls to the relevant department. During the proceedings, the administration's responses were reported to have included requests to wait until sufficient budgetary funding was available.

In November 2016, the head of the regional government's Public Works Department calculated the outstanding interest at €85,226.04.

Despite that calculation, the regional administration did not make the payment. The regional audit authority subsequently questioned whether the right to claim the money remained valid.

In September 2019, the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport formally rejected the claim on the grounds that it had become time-barred. That decision was upheld by the responsible department in November 2019, prompting the landowner to pursue the matter through the courts.

Why the Court Rejected the Government's Argument

The central issue before the TSJIB was whether the landowner had waited too long to claim the interest.

The regional government argued that more than four years had elapsed between claims submitted in November 2012 and November 2016, meaning the right to payment had expired.

The court rejected that interpretation. According to the published accounts of the judgment, the judges found that the five-year limitation period under the earlier applicable regional financial legislation still applied when the November 2016 claim was submitted. The shorter four-year period introduced under the later legal framework could not be applied retrospectively to extinguish a claim that remained valid under the previous rules.

The court also considered the effect of the owner's documented claims on the limitation period. Formal submissions interrupted the period, causing it to begin running again, while telephone calls alone did not have the same legal effect.

The judges therefore concluded that the right to claim the outstanding interest had not expired when the administration rejected the claim in September 2019.

€85,226 Plus Further Interest and Legal Costs

The TSJIB upheld the landowner's appeal in full and annulled the administrative decision refusing payment.

The regional government must pay €85,226.04 in interest for the delay in settling the original expropriation compensation. The amount is also subject to the applicable updating provisions and additional legal interest, which will be determined during the enforcement of the judgment.

The administration must also cover the legal costs of the proceedings, up to a maximum of €3,000.

The ruling is dated 30 September 2026 and, according to the published reports, may still be challenged through an appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court.

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