Robert Arrigo wins €5,000 in damages, as email is declared slanderous

Magistrate Gabriella Vella ruled that an email sent by Lino Farrugia, a director at CLT Hotels Services Limited to various tourism oriented authorities - including the tourism ministry -  was slanderous and libellous towards Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo, as a director of Robert Arrigo & Sons Limited.

The email sent by Farrugia in May 2005, which alleged a 'cowboy' attitude by Arrigo's company regarding inbound tourist traffic bookings, had found its way to be published by Labour's newspaper 'KullHadd'.

In his email, Farrugia had alleged an illegal practice of payments by 'exchange of cheques'  through unrelated operations.

"Which operator still receives bookings from Robert Arrigo & Sons even though he may not have contributed towards Sliema Wanderers Football Club?" the email alleged.

Farrugia claimed that he had no control over the email's leaking to the newspaper, and insisted that an email was not subject to libel under the press laws.

In her ruling, Magistrate Vella said that the email was not sent to a restricted recipient, but to a number of recipients and its leak was almost inevitable.

The allegations were however not proven, and ordered Farrugia to pay Arrigo €2,500 for personal slander, and another €2,500 to Robert Arrigo & Sons Limited.