Construction companies sue Lands Commissioner for ‘acting in bad faith’

Two construction companies have filed for damages against the Commissioner of Lands, accusing him of “acting in bad faith” when he sold them disputed pieces of land for half a million euro, just two months before a scheme was introduced, which would have enabled them to pay much less.

In a civil application filed by lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt, the plaintiffs - Falsons Construction Ltd, Falgri Ltd and Jeffrey Falzon - are arguing that, back in 2005, they bought five plots of land in Bugibba, and subsequently realised that the land was being disputed by the Commissioner of Lands.

Civil proceedings were initiated but the parties came to an agreement out of court and, in 2012, the plaintiffs bought the disputed land for €446,000.

However, two months after the contract had been agreed upon, the government published a scheme whereby owners of land in the same road could buy part of the disputed land for a reduced price.

In a civil application, the plaintiffs are claiming that had they benefitted from this scheme, they would have bought the disputed land for around €54,144 – a far cry from the €446,000 they actually paid.

The plaintiffs are thus alleging that the Commissioner of Lands acted in bad faith for his failure to divulge the details of the scheme.

“It is clear that when the contract was signed in 2012, the scheme in question was already planned by the government, and therefore the contract was done in bad faith. Consequently, damages are being claimed.”

Lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt signed the application.