St. John’s, Antigua: Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer is appealing the recent high court judgment that went against him in the lawsuit brought by former chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC), Sir Gerald Watt, according to a report in the Antigua Observer.
Sir Gerald brought the case in early March 2011, contesting his removal two months earlier as the chairman of ABEC. The removal was effected by Governor General Dame Louise Lake-Tack, acting on the advice of the prime minister. Sir Gerald was replaced as Chairman by Juno Samuel, who was the last of three respondents named in the suit – the others being the Attorney General (representing the governor general) and the Prime Minister.
Last week the Prime Minister indicated that he was considering whether or not to take that step.
Yesterday Sir Gerald’s law firm, Watt-Dorsett and Company, received the notice of the appeal which was filed on Friday, February 17 by the prime minister’s legal team of Sanjeev Datadin and Sherrie-Ann Bradshaw.
The Observer reported stated that Sir Gerald’s lawyer, Dr. David Dorsett, said it is significant that only the Prime Minister and Samuel are appealing Justice Jennifer Remy’s ruling. The Attorney General is not among the appellants, and this is something Dr. Dorsett considers most curious.
Dr. Dorsett noted, “The Attorney General has not appealed, he has not indicated that he will appeal,” He also believes that Justice Remy erred in the matter of aggravated and vindicatory damages. “She has held that we are entitled to damages, but we think that on the point of aggravated and vindicatory damages, she had not indicated that any of the grounds on which we thought we were entitled to those damages were not proven. In fact those grounds were not refuted by the other side, and if those grounds – having been put into evidence – and there has been no challenge to those grounds, then we are entitled to damages on the basis of vindication and aggravation.”
Dr. Dorsett expressed amazement that the prime Minister and Samuel seem to be appealing on the basis that the judge was wrong on every point.
You must be logged in to post a comment.