Jonathan Abela Fiorentino, Author at Mamo TCV

Corporate and M&A Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Commercial Court’s Landmark Decision: Redefining Impracticability in Corporate Governance

In the case 44/2023/ISB delivered on 6th October 2023, the applicant, a majority shareholder in a company requested the Civil Court (Commercial Section) to fix a date for an extraordinary general meeting of the company under Art 132(1) of the Companies Act in an attempt to remove two directors from the Board of Directors without adequately proposing replacements. Such a move could push the company into a precarious state of regulatory non-compliance, endangering its very existence as it may lose its operational license. These consequences also undermine the minority shareholder’s decade long commitment which contributed to the company’s consistent profitability,…

Jonathan Abela Fiorentino11th October 2023

Civil Court (Commercial Section) on whether a #retrial of #liquidationproceedings is possible

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

No Retrial Possible from a Liquidation Order

In a landmark decision delivered on the 11th January 2023, in the names ‘Av. Jonathan Abela Fiorentino noe vs Eolia Limited’ (case no. 68/2022 ISB), the Civil Court (Commercial Section) rejected the application filed by defendant company demanding the Court to order a retrial of the liquidation proceedings that led to the company being placed into liquidation. This decision constitutes the first occasion on which the Court pronounced itself on this specific legal matter, since the issue was previously untested. By means of a liquidation order issued by the same court on 11th March 2022, the Court placed the defendant…

Jonathan Abela Fiorentino24th January 2023

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Court of Appeal Confirms that in pre-1995 Commercial Leases, if the Parties Agreed on Periodic Rent Increases, Such Increases are to Prevail over the Increases Contemplated in Article 1531D (1) and (2) of the Civil Code.

On the 5th November 2021, the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) delivered a judgment confirming a decision of the Rent Regulation Board in the case bearing reference number 29/2019/1 LM.The appellant is the owner of a commercial premises which is leased to the appealed party. The appellant acquired the premises in 2017 together with the lease which was already in place in favour of the appealed party. The appealed party had acquired the lease in 2004 by means of an agreement which established that the rent due amounted to LM 600 per year, which amount was to be paid every…

Jonathan Abela Fiorentino19th November 2021

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Business Mediation – Why Opt for Mediation in Business

Business owners cannot afford continued contention, especially in highly competitive markets where effective communication is key.Whilst conflict cannot be avoided, it is an acknowledged fact that litigation provokes hostility. On the other hand, mediation fosters cooperation and respect. Traditionally, the process commonly resorted to for resolving conflict and disputes is litigation, which diverts attention and resources from achieving targeted commercial goals towards a lengthy and costly litigation process. Mediation provides a voluntary solution to this conundrum with the trend shifting away from court litigation to alternative methods of dispute resolution, including mediation, due to its clear advantages.Mediation can be resorted…

Jonathan Abela Fiorentino7th October 2021

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Sub-Letting of commercial tenements after 31st May 2018 – let it be! – (2)

Reference is made to our previous article entitled 'Sub-Letting of Commercial Tenements After 31st May 2018 – Let it Be!', which dealt with the (then) proposed amendments to article 1613 of the Civil Code. In that article, we gave an overview of the salient provisions contained in the Bill which was being discussed in Parliament. Following the debate in Parliament on the Bill presented by the Government and following various interventions in the debate, the Bill remained unchanged and the amendments were subsequently introduced by means of Act VIII of 2018. The salient amendments introduced can be reviewed in the…

Jonathan Abela Fiorentino24th April 2018