Court asked to annul public deeds

The Civil Court has been asked to declare that public deeds relating to the transfer of land in the limits of Fgura were null and void as it was subject to a warrant of prohibitory injunction.

Joseph Borg, Marks and Charles Limited and JB's Bureau filed their writ against Vica Limited, HSBC Bank Malta plc, Terry Limited and STG Limited.

Plaintiffs claimed they had obtained a warrant of prohibitory injunction in terms of which Terry Limited was prohibited from selling or in any manner transferring the land at Fgura to third parties. The warrant was issued on the basis that the land had been acquired through threats, fraud and violence in 1981.

Following the warrant, plaintiffs had filed a writ of summons requesting the courts to permanently prohibit Terry Limited from transferring the land.

This writ was pending before the Civil Court.

In April 1989, plaintiffs had notified all notaries in Malta and Gozo that no transfer of the land could take place.

Furthermore, the issue of the warrant, and the history of the transfer of the land had received extensive newspaper coverage when the compilation proceedings against the late Lorry Sant had taken place.

Coverage had also been given to the procedures before the Permanent Commission against Corruption against Sant, Joseph Pace, Victor Balzan, Pio Camilleri, Joseph Camilleri and Gianni Camilleri.

Plaintiffs yesterday declared that in 1994 Terry Limited had entered into a notarial deed declaring that it was a debtor of Vica Limited and the land was hypothecated in favour of the latter company despite the warrant of prohibitory injunction.

Furthermore, Terry Limited had subsequently bound itself to transfer the property to Vica Limited.

A judgment of the Civil Court in 1998 had ordered Terry Limited to sell the land to Vica Limited.

Plaintiffs added that HSBC had loaned money to STG Limited and that the repayment had been guaranteed by Terry Limited by special hypothecs on the land constituted by notarial deeds.

These contracts and hypothecs were abusive and illegal, the plaintiffs said and constituted fraud on the part of Terry Limited.

All defendants were aware that a warrant of prohibitory injunction had been issued in respect of the land in 1989 and they ought never to have participated in any transfers or hypothecation of the land.

HSBC had also obtained a warrant of prohibitory injunction against Terry Limited but this warrant was a subsequent claim to that held by plaintiffs.

The court was requested to order that the land in question was subject to the 1989 warrant of prohibitory injunction and to annul and rescind the contracts between Terry Limited and Vica Limited and the court case decided against Terry Limited in 1998.

The court was also requested to revoke the warrant of prohibitory injunction obtained by HSBC and to annul the hypothecs registered on the land.