Insurance company ordered to pay over €400,000 for fatal 2011 crash after court finds driver at fault

An insurance company has been ordered to pay more than €400,000 in damages after a court found its insured driver solely responsible for a fatal 2011 head-on collision in Rabat.

The judgment was handed down on Thursday 8 May by Judge Toni Abela.

The case centred on a crash between a BMW driven by Clayton James Fenech, insured by Citadel, and a Chevrolet driven by Jean Guy Legendre, in which Renee Pelland-Legendre, a Canadian national and passenger, suffered fatal injuries. She died weeks later in Malta, and the court accepted expert medical evidence directly linking her death to the accident.

The plaintiffs—Jean Guy Legendre (both personally and as Renee’s heir), along with the couple’s children Etienne and Marie-Christine Pelland-Legendre—argued that Fenech was driving recklessly and on the wrong side of the road. Citadel disputed liability, blaming Legendre for the crash.

However, Judge Abela concluded that the accident was caused entirely by Fenech’s negligence, based on eyewitness accounts, expert analysis, and crash scene evidence.

The court emphasised that acquittals in previous criminal cases did not preclude a finding of civil responsibility, due to the differing standards of proof.

The court awarded €222,186 to Jean Guy Legendre as Renee’s heir, including funeral expenses and compensation for lost future earnings, which the court calculated based on her age, health, and a part-time teaching contract she had secured in Canada.

An additional €138,349 was awarded to Legendre personally, to cover his physical injuries, lost income, and medical costs. Their children were also granted €20,541 each in recognition of their moral and emotional suffering.

Citadel Insurance Plc was condemned to pay the full amount of €399,617, plus legal interest from the date of judgment, and bear all court costs.