A court has rejected an attempt by the widow of notary Ivan Barbara to avoid a civil case filed by angry clients attempting to recover some €165,000 in deposits and unpaid taxes relating to property contracts.

Madam Justice Audrey Demicoli threw out the preliminary pleas filed by Rosanne Barbara Zarb and ordered that the case continues on its merits.

Ivan Barbara died of COVID-19 in April last year while on a trip to India with his wife, where they were finalising the adoption of a child.

The 23 clients argued in court that Barbara Zarb was responsible for her late husband’s dealings and was therefore responsible also for the debt, which included the deposits they had left with him over property contracts.

They told the court that Barbara Zarb had told them that the repayments of their deposits left with her late husband would be delayed due to complications in the issuance of Barbara’s death certificate, caused by the fact that he had died in India.

However, even after the certificate was issued, Barbara Zarb continued to react to their requests for reimbursement by saying that the “process was still underway”. Another notary who previously worked in Barbara’s office eventually informed them that Barbara Zarb had renounced her inheritance.

They claimed that they have evidence that Barbara’s office continued to operate after his death and that Rosanne Barbara Zarb had “performed acts as though she was an heir and therefore had tacitly accepted her husband’s inheritance”. They asked the court to order Barbara Zarb to repay the money owed to them with interest.

Barbara Zarb fought back on legal points, insisting that the court case did not satisfy the elements of a class action suit, but Madam Justice Demicoli threw out these arguments, saying that all elements had been met.

She also decided against a second argument that the action was not based on a sworn statement by the clients. The judge said that this was a formality that had been used in the past but which had since been relaxed.

Represented by lawyer David Bonello, the notary’s clients had spoken about how their life savings had been left in limbo and how they were driven to desperation at having thousands of euros in deposit fees tied up in the situation, possibly to never see them again.

Lawyers Pawlu Lia and Phyllis Aquilina are defence counsel to Barbara Zarb.

In October last year, Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo granted the clients a magisterial inquiry into the possibility that their money had been misappropriated or used fraudulently. However, Barbara Zarb appealed this decision and the appeal is still pending.

Barbara Zarb insisted that she had never met nor communicated with her husband’s clients and that the plaintiffs had made an “imaginary connection” that she and her husband carried out business together as a consequence of their marriage.