Company purchased jewellery 'in bad faith'

Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, yesterday dismissed a writ filed by Mediterranean Diamonds Ltd against Sonia Bajada on the grounds that the company had acted in bad faith.

The company claimed in its writ it had purchased various items of jewellery from Bajada and had paid her Lm1,495.80. The police had subsequently searched the company's premises and had confiscated the jewellery in issue as it resulted that it had been stolen by Bajada and was therefore not hers. The company asked the court to order Bajada to refund the sum of Lm1,495.80.

Bajada pleaded that the company had acted in bad faith and had known who the jewellery, or at least some of it, belonged to.

Mr Justice Caruana Demajo noted that the company's director, Charles Damato, had explained what the company's normal practice was when purchasing jewellery from individuals.

In such a case the company would request the identity card of the vendor and the number of the identity card would be stamped on the bag in which the jewellery was stored. Furthermore, it resulted that in this particular case Bajada had not sold all the jewellery to the company in one go but had sold it on different occasions.

It further resulted from the evidence given by the company director that the first time the company had purchased jewellery from Bajada it had not requested her identity card number.

Bajada had given the company a false name and address and the director had realised this fact when he had called her at the address given. The director had then insisted upon being given Bajada's identity card number and he had therefore confirmed that the details she had given him previously were false.

This notwithstanding, the company had purchased more jewellery from Bajada.

The court declared that the director was either totally ingenuous or had seen the possibility of making a good profit and had decided to turn a blind eye. As the director in question was authorised to run the company's shop and to purchase jewellery, the court did not believe that he was ingenuous.

Mr Justice Caruana Demajo found that the purchase of the jewellery from Bajada had taken place in bad faith and that the company was not therefore entitled to a refund of the purchase price of the jewellery.

Furthermore, it resulted from the evidence that Mediterranean Diamonds Ltd had sold some of the jewellery it had purchased from Bajada and had made a profit of Lm286.

Despite this, the company was insisting upon Bajada refunding the total purchase price of the jewellery. This was close to fraud, the court noted.

The court dismissed the company's writ.

As Bajada had too been in bad faith the court ordered her to pay her own costs of the litigation. The company was ordered to pay the court registry fees.