'Frivolous' lawsuit by Stivala Group over property sale thrown out of court

The Civil Court has ruled against Carmelo Stivala Group Limited in a highly contentious case involving a €1.45 million property situated at Tigné, Sliema. 

Carmelo Stivala Group, whose CEO and one of the ultimate beneficial owners is Michael Stivala, president of the Malta Developers Association, attempted to sell a property without revealing that the airspace over the plot belonged to third parties not involved with the sale of that property. That, the court ruled, was the critical failure that invalidated the sale because the company had no right to convey the airspace.

The case essentially involved a promise of sale agreement signed in 2017, wherein the Stivala Group was trying to buy an apartment with its overlying airspace.

It emerged during court hearings that some of the airspace belonged to third parties, which the company had not disclosed to the buyers. It nevertheless asked the court to force the sale to go through at a reduced price because of the complications.

However, such contentions by Stivala Group did not persuade the court. In his judgment, Judge Henri Mizzi made a point that the agreement which Stivala Group relied on, lost its legal effect. Not only was the agreement no longer binding, but it also became clear that Stivala was attempting to sell airspace that did not belong to them.

“Stivala’s case is built upon nothing, and can also be considered as frivolous," the judge said as he invalidated the claims of the litigants. The court went on to state that, even if the agreement was valid, failure to disclose critical ownership facts was a serious breach of contract. 

Throughout the case, the buyers, through their various heirs and entities had always indicated that they did not cause the Stivala Group to suffer damage or loss of any amount. 

Their lawyers argued successfully that the company had no valid claim over the airspace, and the court's decision had indeed cleared their stand. Apart from dismissing the claim, the court also ordered the Stivala Group to bear all the costs associated with the case.

Lawyer Philip Manduca assisted Carmelo Stivala Group Limited, and lawyers Leonard Caruana, Joseph A Schembri, Richard Aquilina, Norval Desira, and Cristopher Mizzi were all defence counsel in the proceedings.