Cash only: Saqqajja developer loses Farsons debt case

Clubbing entrepreneur and Saqqajja developer Dominic Micallef has been ordered to pay an overdue drinks bill after initially denying personal liability, then admitting the claim in court.

Magistrate Victor Axiak ordered Micallef and SE Operations Limited to pay Farsons Beverage Imports Company Limited €6,911.92, plus legal interest and costs, for drinks supplied to Palm Beach Resort in Armier.

The judgment establishes Micallef’s personal liability alongside his company. He had signed a credit application in May 2021 personally, on the company’s behalf and as guarantor, making him jointly and severally liable for its unpaid purchases.

The debt concerned invoices issued between April and August 2022.

Micallef initially argued that he had bought nothing personally. His defence also claimed an instalment agreement existed and monthly payments had been accepted.

Farsons’ evidence contradicted that account.

Financial controller Frederick Cauchi testified that an earlier repayment arrangement concerned a separate Aria Complex account, which had been cleared. There was no equivalent arrangement for the Palm Beach debt, and no monthly payments had been made towards it.

Cauchi also told the court that credit facilities had been suspended. Purchases were being made through Farsons Direct strictly for cash.

On judgment day, Micallef filed an unconditional admission, personally and on the company’s behalf. The court upheld the claim, awarding interest from each invoice date until payment.

The ruling follows years of questions about Micallef’s entertainment ventures.

The Shift reported unanswered questions over the transfer of three Armier concessions, including Palm Beach, and unauthorised works at the promised Buddha Bar venue, which failed to open as announced.

Separate reporting detailed Seasport’s claim for €1.27 million against SEG Concessions Limited over Mambo Beach Club and contractor complaints about unpaid bills at the stalled Valletta waterpolo project.

Those company claims are distinct from the debt established by this judgment.

Meanwhile, Micallef secured planning approval to redevelop the former Tattingers site on Saqqajja Hill, despite objections over excavation risks and visual harm beneath Mdina’s bastions.