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Attorney General's FINSAC Appeal Struck Out
Published: Thursday | March 3, 20110 Comments
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
The Court of Appeal yesterday struck out an appeal filed by the attorney general because the requisite procedure was not followed.
It was an appeal in which the attorney general was challenging the Judicial Review Court's order last year that the Government should pay the legal costs in a case in which several claimants were successful in removing retired Court of Appeal judge Boyd Carey as chairman of the FINSAC commission of enquiry.
The enquiry is being held to investigate the collapse of the financial sector in the 1990s.
Several claimants, including former Minister of Finance Dr Omar Davies, had brought the motion contending that Carey was a FINSAC debtor and was not qualified to sit on the commission.
They claimed that because he was a FINSAC debtor, there would be an apparent bias if he continued to preside.
The suit was brought against Carey and the other members of the commission - accountant Worrick Bogle and investment manager Charles Ross. The attorney general was also named as a respondent.
Court ruling
The Judicial Review Court ruled that Carey could not continue to sit on the commission but ruled that Ross and Bogle could continue to sit. Bogle replaced Carey as chairman of the commission.
The court, in handing down its decision, had ordered the attorney general to pay the legal costs of the claimants.
The attorney general, along with Ross and Bogle, appealed against the order on the grounds that the court erred in exercising its discretion by awarding costs against the attorney general, a successful party to the proceedings.
After the appeal was filed, the claimants - Shirley Tyndall, Patrick Hylton, Dr Omar Davies and the Jamaican Redevelopment Foundation - brought an application to strike out the notice of appeal filed by the attorney general, Ross and Bogle.
Attorney-at-law Maurice Manning, instructed by Nunes Scholefield & Deleon who represented some of the claimants, submitted that the appellants did not get leave from the Judicial Review Court to appeal against the order for costs and on that basis, the appeal should be struck out as an abuse of the process of the court.
The Court of Appeal, comprising Justice Hazel Harris, Justice Mahadev Dukharan and Justice Lloyd Hibbert, in striking out the appeal for want of jurisdiction, said the attorney general was obliged to act within the constraints of the law and the relevant rules. The court said when an appeal applies to costs only, leave to appeal must be obtained before proceeding to the appellate court.
Dave Garcia, instructed by Michael Hilton & Associates, represented Patrick Hylton.
Attorney-at-law Paul Beswick represented the appellants who were the attorney general, Ross and Bogle.
barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com
Published: Thursday | March 3, 20110 Comments
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
The Court of Appeal yesterday struck out an appeal filed by the attorney general because the requisite procedure was not followed.
It was an appeal in which the attorney general was challenging the Judicial Review Court's order last year that the Government should pay the legal costs in a case in which several claimants were successful in removing retired Court of Appeal judge Boyd Carey as chairman of the FINSAC commission of enquiry.
The enquiry is being held to investigate the collapse of the financial sector in the 1990s.
Several claimants, including former Minister of Finance Dr Omar Davies, had brought the motion contending that Carey was a FINSAC debtor and was not qualified to sit on the commission.
They claimed that because he was a FINSAC debtor, there would be an apparent bias if he continued to preside.
The suit was brought against Carey and the other members of the commission - accountant Worrick Bogle and investment manager Charles Ross. The attorney general was also named as a respondent.
Court ruling
The Judicial Review Court ruled that Carey could not continue to sit on the commission but ruled that Ross and Bogle could continue to sit. Bogle replaced Carey as chairman of the commission.
The court, in handing down its decision, had ordered the attorney general to pay the legal costs of the claimants.
The attorney general, along with Ross and Bogle, appealed against the order on the grounds that the court erred in exercising its discretion by awarding costs against the attorney general, a successful party to the proceedings.
After the appeal was filed, the claimants - Shirley Tyndall, Patrick Hylton, Dr Omar Davies and the Jamaican Redevelopment Foundation - brought an application to strike out the notice of appeal filed by the attorney general, Ross and Bogle.
Attorney-at-law Maurice Manning, instructed by Nunes Scholefield & Deleon who represented some of the claimants, submitted that the appellants did not get leave from the Judicial Review Court to appeal against the order for costs and on that basis, the appeal should be struck out as an abuse of the process of the court.
The Court of Appeal, comprising Justice Hazel Harris, Justice Mahadev Dukharan and Justice Lloyd Hibbert, in striking out the appeal for want of jurisdiction, said the attorney general was obliged to act within the constraints of the law and the relevant rules. The court said when an appeal applies to costs only, leave to appeal must be obtained before proceeding to the appellate court.
Dave Garcia, instructed by Michael Hilton & Associates, represented Patrick Hylton.
Attorney-at-law Paul Beswick represented the appellants who were the attorney general, Ross and Bogle.
barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com
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