End to the Schism Over the Larios Inheritance: This Is the Fortune of the Marquis of Paúl

The more than two-decade-long legal dispute over the Larios inheritance seems to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Provincial Court of Madrid has ruled in favor of Bárbara Gutiérrez Maturana Kalachnikoff and her two daughters, Christina and Bárbara, in their litigation with the current Marquess of Paul. On May 3, the court annulled the statutory changes of the company Mazacruz, as reported by El Confidencial.

A commercial court in Madrid had rejected the lawsuit from Kalachnikoff and her daughters, citing future events that could not be verified. However, the Madrid Court has accepted the complaint and declared null the reform of the statutes by Carlos Gutiérrez-Maturana-Larios Altuna. The court has established that the changes only sought the “particular interest” and that, therefore, the agreement is abusive.

These modifications in the statutes were established unilaterally in 2000 by the eldest son, Carlos Altuna, born from his father's marriage to Julia Altuna. The changes allowed the stepson to manage the liquidation of his father's inheritance, concentrated in Mazacruz.

This holding company includes artworks, land, and properties with a total value of €615 million. Among them, the estate Dehesa de los Llanos, in Albacete, covering 24,710 acres (10,000 hectares).

It is worth mentioning that Carlos Gutiérrez-Maturana-Larios Altuna only owns 27.24% of the share capital of Mazacruz. Bárbara Kalachnikoff and her daughters control the remaining 72.76%, but 61.85% of the voting rights in the assembly are held by Carlos Altuna. The reason is that in a general meeting held in 2000, it was agreed that the stepson would have a voting privilege: each of his shares was worth 5 votes.

The Arbitration

After multiple failed attempts by the widow of the late marquess to liquidate Mazacruz, it was agreed in 2014 to mediate through arbitration. The award ruled that the company should be dissolved so that each party would receive the percentage corresponding to their share in the capital. The award also considered that there was abuse of dominant position through the voting privilege of the current marquess.

The High Court of Justice of Madrid annulled this award, but the Constitutional Court rejected this ruling. This same court dismissed two years ago the appeal for protection by the current Marquess of Paul, who requested the halt of the liquidation of Mazacruz.

The 20-Year War of the Marquessate

The legal disputes over the estate of the Marquessate of Paul began in April 2003. Carlos Altuna sued his father to validate the donation of 135,250 shares of Mazacruz that he had made to him. This trial also involved the general meeting's agreement on the reinforced vote of the marquess's son.

The then-wife of the late marquess sued her stepson, unsuccessfully. Her father also did so for documentary falsification and fraud, but the complaint was dismissed. The marquess passed away in May 2004, and the courts validated the privileged vote of the son and the donation of the shares, which accounted for 23% of the share capital.

The widow and her daughters succeeded in nullifying the meeting in which Altuna had removed them as members of the board of directors of Mazacruz. After the 2014 arbitration award, the current marquess has attempted to slow down the liquidation of the holding company.

After appealing the award to the High Court of Justice of Madrid and having it annulled, the Constitutional Court overturned the ruling. This same court has dismissed the appeal for protection filed by the marquess two years ago. However, the recent ruling on the reform of the statutes by the Madrid Court has been appealed to the Supreme Court.