Has Court Violated Procedures re Plea by Family Blocked from Their New Home by Seller

[mtquest]

We live in a former British Colony so laws of England are more applicable. In 2006 we purchased a lot & house package in a gated community with all parties having signed the sales agreement, the conveyance for the lot & house and the construction agreement to build the house.

Vendor failed to provide its share of stamp taxes to register the conveyance that was due at signing so only our half of taxes are held by our lawyers and the conveyance is not yet registered. In building the house the vendor subsequently deviated substantially from the construction plans. On our protest they stated we can either accept the 75% complete house as is (with errors) or take back all monies.

We paid the vendor in stages as per the construction agreement and the agreement provided for arbitration in the event of any disputes concerning the works. The arbiter would determine who owed whom at the point of the dispute, the parties would settle up and the vendor was to surrender the house to the buyer upon settlement. The vendor refused to participate and initially barred our inspector whose name we submitted as our choice of arbiter. We started court proceedings for a declaration and possession.

We appeared in court for 5 hearings and in each the lawyers made empty promises to resolve the matter out of court. I fired my lawyer and personally asked the court for dispute resolution. In the DRC the vendor/defendant was warned for the first time by the mediator they would likely lose but the defendant, who is a very powerful and influential local personality, was unphased. The 2nd DRC is pending. Our inspector has concluded the vendor was overpaid for works.

1 - Having 100% equity and no default in our contracts are we superior to the vendor?

2 - Contract delay and barring our access has now been over 700 days. If 2nd DRC is fruitless & no one wants arbitration, can we claim repair cost, loss of bargain, trespass damages and consequential losses?

3 - How quickly should the court have acted when this case was first brought to its attention?

4 - Finally, has the court violated any procedural rules considering only the standards of the English court system?