Club owners who defied court order in hot water

Neil Camilleri

The owners of two San Ġwann nightclubs are to face contempt of court proceedings after they failed to lower the volume of the sound emanating from their establishments, as per a court order issued in 2015.

Residents John and Edith Sullivan had filed for an injunction against Raymond and Patricia Desira, the owners of Club Aria and The Dome, also known as Vibes and Liquid, claiming that loud music from the clubs was causing them an inconvenience and denying them their right to the peaceful enjoyment of their property.

The case was filed against the Desiras and their company, Martan Limited.

In 2015, the court ordered the defendants to take the necessary measures to bring their sound levels in line with World Health Organisation guidelines. However, the Sullivans took the Desiras to court again, claiming that the defendants had ignored the court order and asking it to initiate contempt of court proceedings.

The defendants argued that they were not responsible because, although they owned the clubs, they did not manage them themselves.

They also claimed that the sound levels measured by an acoustic expert engaged by the plaintiffs had been taken using uncalibrated equipment, rendering the results invalid.

They further argued that there were other similar establishments in the vicinity which could be the actual source of the inconvenience, and that they could not be held responsible for the actions of third parties.

The court found that Raymond Desira was the responsible person as holder of the MTA-issued licence. However, it removed Martan Limited from the acts of the case since the charge of contempt of court, which can carry a one-month prison sentence, could only be levelled against a natural person, and not a company.

John Sullivan told the court that the music was loudest when played from the outdoor area of the complex, but events held at Vibes were not a nuisance, however, since the club was closed off.

The operator of Aria Club, Dominic Micallef, explained to the court that measures had already been implemented to reduce sound emissions. Changes had already been made to the PA system while sound-absorbent material had been installed.

In January 2018, three-centimetre-thick glass panels were also permanently installed on the side closest to the residence owned by the plaintiffs and speakers were rearranged.

Micallef said that in 2017, as a precaution, he had decreased the maximum number of attendees for events. He also said that when the court order was issued in 2015 it was peak season and the club had already taken many event bookings. Events that could be relocated were, he said.

A magisterial inquiry into the strange death of a clubber, David Caruana Triccas, in 2017 is still ongoing, police sources have told this newspaper.

The 22-year-old from Rabat had lost consciousness in the road outside the clubs at around 4.45am on Sunday, 9 July. An ambulance was called but the young man was pronounced dead on site.

Details surrounding the case are still sketchy, but Dominic Micallef had told this newsroom that the case was not connected to Club Aria.

The police said at the time that it was not known whether foul play, natural causes or any other factors could be at play. Magistrate Monica Vella had launched an inquiry.

Source said that, more than two years later, the inquiry is still ongoing.

The court also went over sound level readings taken by two different experts. It found that sound levels remained the same in the weeks after the 2015 injunction. By December of that year, the levels had decreased but were still well above the WHO guidelines.

The court said the defendants had been obliged to take immediate, not gradual, measures to reduce the sound levels. In order not to be exposed to possible court action, they had to stop operating the clubs until remedial measures were taken. The defendants had not done so, despite knowing that they would be in breach of a court order.

The judge, finding that there was prima facie breach of a court order, instructed the Court Registrar to institute contempt of court proceedings against the defendants.