Marfa hotel land declared state property

The Civil Court yesterday declared that land at Marfa on which the Solemar Hotel was built was government property.

Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia delivered a preliminary judgment in the case filed by the director of land against Riviera Resort Hotel Limited and Polidano Brothers Limited.

The director of land claimed that in 1954 the government had granted 814 square metres of land at Marfa to Natale Falzon by title of temporary emphyteusis.

The land was granted by Falzon under title of temporary sub-emphyteusis to Riviera Resort Hotel Limited (formerly known as Solemar Limited), and the government had recognised the latter company as the tenant.

The director claimed that defendant companies had developed the Solemar Hotel on property adjacent to that which had been granted to them on sub-emphyteusis, without the consent of the government.

The court was requested to declare that the director of land was the owner of the land and that defendant companies had constructed on land that exceeded the area granted to Falzon on emphyteusis.

The director of land also requested the court to declare that defendants had caused damage to the government, and to order them to make good the damages.

Defendant companies pleaded that Riviera Resort Hotel Limited was the owner of the land, and that in any case Polidano Brothers Limited ought not to have been sued as it was only the developer and not the owner.

Mr Justice Valenzia yesterday noted that defendants had not produced any evidence in support of their pleas, and that the director of land had produced searches as to the title to the land which showed that Riviera Resort had not entered into any deed of acquisition of the land in question.

However, as the director of land was claiming that the land belonged to the government it was up to the director to substantiate his claim, and this beyond any doubt.

The director had testified that the records of the works department indicated that the land had been held by the government for over 150 years, and that throughout that period no other party had ever staked a claim to the land.

Furthermore, Falzon had acquired part of the land on which the Solemar Hotel was built from the government.

Defendant companies had not produced any evidence to show that they had purchased the land from third parties.

The court therefore concluded that the director of land had proven that the government had held the land for many decades and that the defendant companies had illegally and abusively occupied the land.

The case was put off for evidence on the claim for damages.