Demonstrator to pay for steam cleaner damage to sofa

A judge in the Civil Court has confirmed a magistrates' court judgment condemning a woman who went to a house to demonstrate the use of a steam cleaner to pay for the damage caused to the couple's sofa.

Mr Justice Philip Sciberras heard that Emanuel and Ruth Grech had filed judicial action in the magistrates' court in which they had requested that Carmen Taliana be condemned to make good the damages they had sustained as a result of her demonstration of a Rosa Linda steam cleaner at their home.

Taliana had pleaded that she ought not to have been sued by the Grechs because she had not carried out the demonstration on her own behalf but on behalf of the company International Sales Direct.

The magistrates' court noted that the company International Sales Direct had been mentioned by Ruth Grech in her testimony, in connection with some voucher that her husband had won entitling him to a product demonstration.

However, the product was not the same as the steam cleaner that had caused the damage.

Ruth Grech had not been interested in International Sales Direct products but had accepted a demonstration of the Rosa Linda machine.

It resulted that Taliana had gone to the Grechs' house to demonstrate the use of the steam cleaner.

The machine was used by Taliana to clean some areas of the house, and then Taliana had suggested to Ruth Grech that the machine be used to clean a sofa upholstered in red velvet.

Taliana had told Ruth Grech to use the machine herself on this sofa but Taliana had set the machine and had handed it over to Grech.

Although Grech had told defendant that the temperature setting of the machine was too high, Taliana assured her that the temperature would fall and that the cleaning could take place.

While Grech was using the machine to clean her sofa, she realised that she was leaving marks on the velvet.

These marks were established to be burns on the velvet which could not be removed, and consequently, new upholstery was required.

The Court of Appeal heard that the magistrates' court had concluded that Taliana was responsible for the damages sustained by the Grechs, and that the connection of International Sales Direct had not been proven.

An estimate for the re-upholstery of the sofa was produced in the sum of Lm475.

But the magistrates' court concluded that as the sofa was six years old Taliana could not be condemned to pay the sum in full as the Grechs would be receiving new upholstery to replace the old.

Taliana was ordered by the magistrates' court to pay Emanuel and Ruth Grech Lm375 in damages.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the judgment of the magistrates' court was fair and equitable and confirmed it with costs of both instances against Taliana.