Clear Indication That Appearing On Behalf Of A Company Is Required

The Court of Appeal (Superior) rejected the argument that the defendant intended to appear on behalf of a company (Sovereign Hotels Ltd) through the use of the letters 'c/o' (care of) in the case of Joinwell Ltd v. Ronald Azzopardi, decided on the 5th of October 2018. The Court indicated that it was a well-known fact that the letters 'c/o' were a mere indication of where correspondence should be directed and also observed that, unlike the defendant, the representative of Joinwell Ltd had clearly indicated that he was signing 'for and on behalf of Joinwell Ltd'.

The defendant argued that he had not meant to appear in his own name and this was apparent from the fact that the bills of exchange had been issued in the name of Sovereign Hotels Limited. However, the Court disagreed with this argument, remarking that a person's debt can be paid by a third party.