The Council of State has ruled that the Municipality of Cagliari must pay over €50,000 to Mucca Maga for the unlawful closure of an amusement arcade opened in 2017.
The closure had been decided with mayoral ordinances which imposed a minimum distance of 500 metres from the so-called "sensitive places" identified to combat gambling addiction: the premises were in via Tola, therefore "too close" to the church of Santa Lucia and three school buildings: the Riva primary school, the Sacro Cuore Institute and the new Collegio della Missione.
However, the company had obtained all the required permits, including a license from the Police Headquarters. It had also signed a commercial lease and incurred significant expenses to renovate the premises and launch its business. Despite this, a few months after opening, the City Council ordered its closure, claiming it violated the distancing restrictions introduced by the ordinances.
The measures were challenged before the Regional Administrative Court of Sardinia, which in 2018 declared them unlawful due to the mayor's lack of jurisdiction. According to the judges, regulating distances from "sensitive locations" does not fall within the mayor's powers, which are limited to managing opening hours.
The cancellation of the deeds had become definitive, but the activity had been suspended in the meantime, causing financial losses to the company.
The request for compensation was initially rejected by the Regional Administrative Court (TAR), which considered the Municipality's error excusable due to "alleged regulatory uncertainty." However, the Council of State overturned this decision, ruling that the illegality was evident and that case law had already clarified "the limits of the mayor's powers," without "justifying conflicts of interpretation." The error was therefore deemed "inexcusable and attributable to the fault of the municipal administration."
Having established the Municipality's liability, the judges recognized the connection between the closure and the damages suffered by the company, which include both the expenses incurred to start the business and the loss of earnings. Consequently, the "consequential damages" (i.e., the concrete and actual loss) were quantified at over €50,000, while the Municipality will have to propose liquidation of the "loss of profit" (i.e., the earnings that could have been earned) according to the criteria set out in the ruling, including revaluation and interest.
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)