Court awards €42,000 in compensation over case that took 19 years to conclude

A man has been awarded over €42,000 in compensation for delays in a court case that took just over 19 years to be concluded.

Michael and Monica Debarro had sued the State Advocate in 2020, arguing that they had suffered damages in the form of interest they were ordered to pay after losing a civil case. This had led to substantial financial trouble for the couple.

In March 2000, a civil case had been filed against the Debarros over a Lm30,000 (€69,881) claim for unjustified enrichment under false pretences. Monica Debarro passed away in 2001 and the acts of the case were transferred into the name of Catherine Mifsud.

The case was assigned to several members of the judiciary over the years. In 2003 the plaintiff’s evidence was declared closed and three years later, in 2006, the defendant submitted its last piece of evidence. Judgment was meant to be handed down in May 2007, but from that day on sittings were always put off to a later date, either because the sitting judge was indisposed, or more time was needed, or simply delayed at the orders of the court.

On 27 February 2014, the First Hall of the Civil Court presided by Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland had decided in favour of the defendants. An appeal was filed, the first sitting of which was scheduled for three years, eight months and 19 days after the filing of the appeal. On 17 June 2019, the Superior Court of Appeal upheld the appeal and had ordered the Debarros to pay the heirs of the plaintiff €35,950 – half the requested sum - with interests from March 2000.

The Debarros asked for compensation for the payment of excess interests on the sum.

Mr. Justice Grazio Mercieca observed that the case had been filed in March 2000 and the appeal finally decided in May 2019 – 19 years and 18 days later. The plaintiff had taken three years to present her evidence and the defendants had taken another three years to do the same. The case was decided at first instance after around 14 years, six years after the evidence stage had been declared closed.

Weighing up the issue of moral damages, he observed that “in the end, it is the law and the just interpretation of it according to established hermeneutical principles, that this Court has the duty of protecting and applying and not what particular judgments said, even if the principles pronounced by the highest court of the land or the Court of Strasbourg should not be lightly or capriciously discarded.”

The judge ruled that six years to gather the evidence was not justified. The parties were partly at fault, he said, but the court should have never allowed such delays. Likewise, the three year wait for an appeal judgment was far too long, he said. “The case should have, reasonably, taken three years to be decided at first instance and two more at appeal stage. Therefore it took over 14 years longer than it should have.

For these reasons, the court declared that the plaintiff’s right to a fair hearing in a reasonable time had been breached and liquidated damages, ordering the State Advocate to pay.

The court liquidated damages for the delays at €42,144 – of which €3,000 were moral damages- payable by the State Advocate to the plaintiff.

Lawyer Ryan Ellul appeared for the Debarro couple.