Two Gozitans were yesterday ordered to pay almost €65,000 to a man blinded in one eye when he intervened to protect a woman who was being assaulted.
Martin Xerri sued Joseph Rapa and Carmel Rapa for damages following an incident that occurred during the feast of Għajnsielem in August 2006.
He told the court he was on his way home in the early hours when he saw Joseph Rapa shouting at and then violently assaulting his wife, Marija.
Mr Xerri said he intervened to calm down the situation but was badly beaten by Joseph Rapa and Carmel Rapa. Joseph Rapa hit him in his right eye with a brick and, a few seconds later, while lying on the ground, Carmel Rapa hit him on the back of his skull with a chair.
Mr Xerri said he lost vision in his right eye and suffered a permanent disability as a result of the attack.
The First Hall of the Civil Court had declared Joseph Rapa responsible for the injuries Mr Xerri sustained and he was ordered to pay Mr Xerri €40,744 in damages.
On appeal, the amount of damages was raised to €64,930 and the Court of Appeal also found Carmel Rapa to be equally responsible for the assault.
Carmel Rapa demanded that the case be heard again by the Court of Appeal. This request was upheld.
The Court of Appeal, composed of Acting Chief Justice Noel Cuschieri, Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi and Mr Joseph Zammit McKeon, accepted the application for the appeal to be heard anew. The court pointed out that, in the course of the proceedings, Mr Xerri and Joseph Rapa had reached an agreement whereby Joseph Rapa had transferred property valued at €20,000 to Mr Xerri in settlement of any claim against him.
The Court of Appeal said it agreed with the amount of damages set by the first court. What it had to look into was what effect the agreement reached between Joseph Rapa and Mr Xerri could have on Carmel Rapa.
The three judges concluded that the compromise agreement in question did not exonerate Carmel Rapa from his liability towards Mr Xerri. The sum of €20,000 Mr Xerri received from Joseph Rapa had to be deducted from the total damages of €64,930 owed by Carmel Rapa, who was therefore ordered to pay Mr Xerri €44,930 in damages.