1.7-million-euro lockdown compensation claim rejected

Spain’s Supreme Court has rejected a claim lodged by the Vitalclass Hotel in Costa Teguise for compensation for losses resulting from the 2020 Covid lockdowns.

The hotel’s owners claim to have lost around €1.7 million resulting from the Spanish government’s declaration of a state of emergency, although the amount of damages claimed was less than €400,000.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court rejected the claim, ruling that the lockdown was “justified by the extraordinary circumstances, given that the suspension of group activities had been shown to slow the spread of the virus.”

The Supreme Court acknowledged that the lockdown had been ruled “partially unconstitutional” in 2021, resulting in the refunding of many fines, but reiterated that this did not entitle claimants to compensation for financial losses.