Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507380
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2023 11 LAW CLASSIFIEDS THE plaintiffs did not manage to prove negligence, careless- ness and non-observance of traffic regulations on the part of the respondent. This was held in a decision delivered by the Mal- ta Arbitration Centre in Citadel Insurance plc et nomine vs Paul Bonello chaired by Dr Alex Peri- ci Calascione in the capacity of Arbitrator on 29 August 2023. This arbitration relates to an automobile accident that took place on 26 January 2018 in Ra- bat, Malta, between the vehicle insured by the plaintiff Citadel Insurance plc and owned by the other plantiff in the case and the respondent's vehicle. The plaintiffs claim that the respondent is responsible for the accident that occured to the vehicle insured by Citadel Insur- ance plc and that the respond- ent should pay for the damages to the vehicle for the amount of €2,166.57. In his defense the respondent claimed that the requests tabled by the plaintiffs are unfounded both in fact and in law, given that the incident occurred solely due to negligence, carelessness and non-observance of the reg- ulations of the driver of the vehi- cle of the plaintiff. During the procedures of the case it was an undisputed fact that at no point an impact or collision occurred between the vehicles. Furthermore, a scam- mel truck parked close to the corner of the street obstructed the visual of both drivers. The driver of the vehicle prop- erty of the plaintiff alleged that while she was driving slowly, the vehicle of the respondent kept speeding whilst coming out from a side street where there was a stop sign. To avoid him, she had to turn to the left and by doing so, she ended up impact- ing against the wall of a third party's property. On this point the arbitrator considered that the obligation of the driver exiting from a side road to a main road is to exercise maximum attention and a prop- er look out in order to ascertain himself that the main road is empty before undertaking such maneuver. On the other hand the re- spondent claimed that he was standing still at the stop sign and at that point he saw the ve- hicle of the plaintiff driving past at high speed while at the same time the driver was on the mo- bile phone. He saw the vehicle going up the sidewalk, colliding in the corner of a private house with which force of impact, the car recoiled back. On considering the facts of the case, the arbitrator stated that from the two versions given by the drivers it is clear that both of them are alleging the element of speeding on the other driver. However, in the opinion of the arbitrator, the respondent's ver- sion is much more credible and plausible for how the incident could have occured. The arbitrator came to this conclusion by examining several factors. First of all, if the driver of the plaintiff's vehicle was re- ally driving slowly as she alleged, and if it was actually that the respondent was speeding, based on the road maps, the driver of the plaintiff's vehicle would have had enough space to break and stop to avoid any collision. In fact, in the opinion of the arbi- trator, the collision against the wall would have not occured if the driver was not speeding and had full control of the vehicle. It was also evident from pic- tures presented during the case that the car did not stop against the wall on impact but it stood past the edge of the curb at the corner where the impact had happened. This could only oc- cur if the car recoiled on impact, as the respondent had claimed. Furthermore, it was noted that the damages sustained to the car were of an extensive nature that could only result from speeding of the same vehicle. The arbitrator states that after taking into account these factors and circumstances, it is much more plausible that when the driver of the plaintiff's vehicle arrived near the scammel and saw the respondent's vehicle at the stop sign, she hesitated and instead of pressing the break, she turned the steering wheel with the consequence that she hit the wall in question. This caused ex- tensive damage to the vehicle. This manoeuvre, together with the fact that she was driving at a speed of more than 30Kms/hr as she alleged, and being unable to control or stop the vehicle was the causa prossima of the inci- dent. Furthermore, the elements on which the plaintiffs' requests were based that is negligence, carelessness and non-observa- tion of traffic regulations on the part of the respondent were not proven by the plaintiffs. Hence the arbitrator conclud- ed that the respondent was not responsible for the incident, but it was the driver of the vehicle insured with the plaintiff that was responsible. Therefore, the arbitrator, while accepting all the exceptions of the respondent, rejected the claims of the plaintiffs, with costs against them. Claims of negligent driving have to be proved clearly LAW REPORT MALCOLM MIFSUD Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION MARSALFORN, Gozo - holiday apart- ments for short or long lets with mag- nificent sea-views. Call 21556021, 27556021, 79426883 PROPERTY TO LET SHOP TO LEASE - Class 4 B 60 sqm corner shop to lease in San Gwann. Key money €49,888 and €40 a day rental. Call on 79703404. XLENDI - catering premises in prime site to let. Can be used for other com- mercial purposes. 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