Home News APNU/AFC legal cases lost: Seizure of assets likely as Opposition yet to...
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has warned that court marshals may soon move to seize assets of certain Opposition members who have failed to pay millions in costs, as awarded by the courts, in the various legal cases they have lost.
It was just last month that the Attorney General Chambers revealed that it was in the process of moving to recover costs awarded in litigation lost by the main parliamentary Opposition.
Providing an update on this process during his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday, Nandlall shared that the Opposition has continued to refuse to pay up what is duly owed.
“They were sent notification letters, they were sent reminders, the matter was widely published in the press when I made comments that enforcement proceedings would be filed and notwithstanding all the above, they have refused, obstinately refused, to pay the costs,” he outlined.
“This constitutes contempt of court and I have already instructed my lawyers to begin the process of enforcing the judgements or the cost orders. It means that persons’ vehicles and other movable properties will be seized by marshals of the High Court and sold at an execution sale to recover the monies,” the AG added.
Among the cases where outstanding costs are yet to be made, Nandlall made reference to the Christopher Jones and Norris Witter matter where they were each ordered to pay some $1.2 million in costs after the judge had dismissed their case.
Another case he highlighted is the one involving eight Opposition parliamentarians who were each ordered to pay $350,000 to each of the three defendants in the case being Nandlall, House Speaker Manzoor Nadir, and Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs. The Members of Parliament are: Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, and Maureen Philadelphia.
Moreover, Nandlall had previously informed that the Opposition has unpaid costs orders dating back to its 2020 election-related cases, at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). In relation to the series of cases filed by the then APNU/AFC Opposition to block the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from declaring the PPP/C the winner of the March 2020 election which was tossed out by the CCJ, Nandlall had estimated costs being several millions of dollars.
He had explained that costs to be taxed fit for two counsels will require an elaborate bill of costs to be submitted to the court which would include all of the expenses associated with the two appeals, including preparation of written submissions, preparation of pleadings, preparation for oral argument, appearances in the court, stationery, photocopying, and filing fees. He had estimated the photocopying cost for one case alone to be $500,000.
According to him, the charge rate for one counsel runs into several hundred US dollars per hour. In short, he had said that several millions of dollars would have to be paid in costs.
Meanwhile, as an alternative to the seizure of assets, Nandlall had disclosed that the Opposition could also face jailtime for failing to honour the judgments or cost orders. Another option is going to their employers to garnish wages/salaries due to them monthly, or depending on their pay frequency. Nandlall assured that these processes will be examined and that he will “move swiftly” to recover the owed monies. (G11)
