Woman ordered to return money paid by mistake

The Court of Appeal yesterday confirmed a judgment which had ordered a woman to refund HSBC Bank Malta thousands of liri which had been paid to her by mistake.

The judgment was delivered in the case originally filed by Mid Med Bank Ltd against Josephine Carol Farrugia.

The bank told the court that in July 1990, Ms Farrugia had wanted to withdraw Lm800 from her savings account held in the bank's Valletta branch in Republic Street. By mistake, the cashier paid Ms Farrugia Lm8,000.

The bank asked the court to order Ms Farrugia to refund the Lm7,200 she had been paid in error.

Ms Farrugia told the court that after leaving the bank she had gone to the Tico Tico bar in Strait Street where she met a friend. Upon her return to her home her handbag was searched by bank security personnel who found that she had only Lm800 in her possession.

But the First Hall of the Civil Court did not find this version of events credible, pointing out that Ms Farrugia had had the opportunity to hide the money she had been paid in error by the bank.

The Court of Appeal composed of Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano, Mr Justice Anton Depasquale and Mr Justice Albert J Magri, yesterday ruled that in civil cases when there was a conflict in the evidence given, the court had to give importance to the credibility of the different witnesses.

The bank's cashier and Ms Farrugia had both testified before the court, giving different versions of events. But the Court of Appeal found that the cashier's version of events was more credible than that given by Ms Farrugia.

In conclusion, the court confirmed the judgment of the first court and ordered Ms Farrugia to refund Lm7,200 to the bank.