The Court of Appeal has rejected a claim by No Deposit Cars owner Christian Borg for €160,000, confirming a previous ruling that his case was based on a private agreement featuring a signature that was likely forged.

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal threw out Borg's appeal against Christopher Camilleri and his father, Philip Camilleri.

Christian Borg's name is a familiar one in the media spotlight. Just last month, criminal proceedings against the car dealer were dropped after he reached a settlement with the tax authorities, taking advantage of a controversial legal mechanism introduced last year.

Moreover, in 2022, MaltaToday reported that Prime Minister Robert Abela netted €45,000 on a property deal with the car dealership boss, at the centre of a police investigation and an abduction case.

The long-standing legal battle centred on two lifts ordered by Borg for his No Deposit Cars showroom in Qormi. Borg claimed despite paying in advance, the lifts were never fully installed. He sought to enforce a private agreement dated 25 November 2019, which allegedly bound the suppliers to pay him €160,000 in penalties for the delay.

The defendants categorically denied the validity of the document. Christopher Camilleri testified that he had never signed the agreement and only became aware of its existence during subsequent court proceedings.

The First Hall of the Civil Court had originally described the case as "hopeless," noting that the signature on the document Borg provided looked nothing like Camilleri's actual signature on other official contracts. The court also highlighted that the ID card number listed for the witness on the document was incorrect.

A significant hurdle for Borg was his failure to produce the original version of the disputed agreement, submitting only a copy to the court. Under Maltese law, the "best evidence" rule requires the original document to be presented unless there is a valid reason why it is unavailable. The court noted that Borg never alleged the original was in the hands of the defendants, nor did he explain why it was missing.

Furthermore, a technical failure in the court's digital recording system meant that the testimony of Borg's key witness, Luke Milton, was lost.

Although the court offered Borg the opportunity to have Milton testify again at the Registry's expense, Borg failed to bring the witness back to confirm the authenticity of the document.

In his appeal, Borg argued that the first court had been too strict and should have allowed him more time to present evidence. He claimed his legal team had faced difficulties obtaining a formal release from his previous lawyers, which hampered his ability to meet court deadlines.

However, the Court of Appeal found that Borg had been given multiple opportunities to prove his case over several years and had simply failed to do so. The presiding judges ruled that a copy of a private agreement cannot be considered the "best evidence" when its very authenticity is being challenged as a forgery.

The court confirmed the original 2025 judgment in its entirety and ordered Christian Borg to pay all legal costs associated with the appeal.

Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, together with Justice Robert Mangion and Madam Justice Simone Grech presided over the appeal.