Wallace Fino and Chris Gauci, former directors of Price Club Operators Limited, were yesterday ordered to pay almost €900,000 to Paolo Bonnici Ltd.
In a case against Mr Fino and his wife Domenica and against Mr Gauci and his wife Claudette, Paolo Bonnici Ltd claimed that it was owed €898,262.71 for merchandise it had sold to Mr Fino and Mr Gauci.
Mr Fino and Mr Gauci pleaded that they ought not to have been sued for they had not acted in their personal capacities when they had bought the merchandise but on behalf of Price Club Operators Ltd.
Their wives argued that they were not responsible for payment of any debts because they had never consented to the debt being incurred.
Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo said that Paolo Bonnici Ltd's claim was based upon a credit application form signed by Mr Fino and Mr Gauci and in terms of which a current account was opened. On the basis of this account, Mr Fino and Mr Gauci could purchase merchandise from the company.
Although it was true that the form stated that the merchandise was to be sold by an outlet run by Price Club Operators Ltd, this did not mean, the court observed, that the contract was signed by the company. Mr Fino and Mr Gauci had not declared on the form that they were acting on behalf of Price Club Operators Ltd but had signed personally.
Even if one were to argue that the form was signed on behalf of Price Club, both Mr Fino and Mr Gauci had obliged themselves on the credit application form to undertake personal liability for payment. The court therefore dismissed Mr Fino and Mr Gauci's plea.
When referring to the pleas raised by the wives, Mr Justice Caruana Demajo referred to two cases filed by the wives and decided by the Court of Appeal last summer, whereby the court had ruled that any personal obligations entered into by Mr Fino and Mr Gauci were not binding on the community of acquests existing between them and their wives.
Paolo Bonnici Ltd's claim against Mrs Fino and Mrs Gauci was therefore dismissed but was upheld against their husbands in their personal capacities. Both men were ordered to pay the company €898,262.71, subject to the condition that the payment was not to be made from assets of the community of acquests they had with their wives in terms of law. Interest on the sum was to be calculated from the date of invoice.