A lawyer was yesterday awarded €2,500 in damages after the Magistrates’ Court ruled an article published in Kullħadd in February 2008 entitled Ħafirlu Dejn ta’ €256,217 was libellous.

Magistrate Francesco Depas-quale delivered the judgment following an application filed by Peter Fenech against editor Felix Agius and the article’s author, Aleander Balzan.

The article, said Dr Fenech, alleged that arrears of more than €250,000 in rent owed to the Government by Jumbo Lido in Sliema had been written off.

According to the article, this occurred because Dr Fenech was a great ally of the Nationalist Party, which was in government in 2008.

But Dr Fenech told the court this was not the case.

Jumbo Lido was leased from the Government by VAB & Company Ltd. This company did not belong to Dr Fenech.

He was a director and had held one share out of the thousands of shares of the company.

VAB had been granted a beach concession in Sliema to develop the site known as Jumbo Lido. In 2005 the Government wanted to rescind the lease because of a planned project in the area.

VAB was asked by the Government if it would terminate the lease 10 years before the contractual period.

The company agreed to do this on concession that the Government would not insist on payment of outstanding rent due.

This was compensation for the early termination of the lease.

Magistrate Depasquale found in favour of Dr Fenech and declared the article to be libellous.

Mr Agius and Mr Balzan were ordered to pay Dr Fenech €2,500 between them.

Delays in the case had been caused by the defendants and they were ordered to pay the Court Registrar €1,800 by way of a penalty.