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Reginald Armour –

The Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain has been selected as the venue for lawyers to debate a motion of no confidence against Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, on July 15.

Armour is expected to attend the meeting which will be held both physically and virtually. The meet is expected to begin at 2 pm.

A notice to members last Friday said the meeting will address the matters set out in the requisition of 40 attorneys who called on the council to convene a special general meeting to debate the no-confidence motion over his role in the ongoing United States civil asset recovery case related to fraud allegations in the construction of the Piarco International Airport.

Lawyers will also vote on if a call should be made for Armour to resign as attorney general.

Only financial members will be allowed to vote.

On June 15, the group of attorneys presented the requisition to the association’s council, led by attorney Kiel Taklalsingh.

In the original requisition, Taklalsingh said he and the other members who signed the petition felt the issue should be discussed by the membership, as it concerns the integrity of the legal profession.

“Respectfully, these allegations, if left unaddressed, have the potential to erode public confidence in our profession, the administration of justice, and the rule of law,” Taklalsingh said.

In announcing the date for the debate of the motion, Lalla said the association had written to Armour “advising him of your letter wherein a requisition for a special general meeting (SGM) was made.”

Armour, 65, who was appointed Attorney General in a surprise Cabinet reshuffle on March 16, failed to disclose his full involvement as a defence attorney for former government minister Brian Kuei Tung and Renee Pierre who are charged in the Piarco case when he met with US lawyers prosecuting Kuei Tung and others in a $200 million civil asset forfeiture case dragging on in Miami for 18 years.

On May 2, a US judge automatically disqualified Armour and the law firm Sequor Law on the grounds of an apparent conflict of interest as Armour was both chief prosecutor and a former defence attorney.

The government has since retained another US law firm, White and Case, to appeal the ruling by US judge Reemberto Diaz only against the disqualification of the law firm.

A request for an expedited appeal has been thrown out by the US appeal court. Former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi has replaced Armour as the client representative for the government in the US lawsuit which comes up for trial in September.

The Law Association has also opened a separate investigation into the AG’s conduct and has made a request for all the documents in the matter.

In a full-page newspaper advertisement, published after public commentary over what transpired in the case, Armour denied he misled the US Court when he initially claimed he only played a minor role in representing Kuei Tung, which was limited to research and note-taking.

Armour claimed that his initial affidavit to the court was prepared while he was in Europe on vacation and he did not have access to his office records to full recall the extent of his involvement in the case over 14 years ago.

He also claimed that he was not allowed to rectify the error when he had an opportunity to verify his records shortly after.

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A quarry contractor whose contract was terminated by Readymix Ltd in 2013 has appealed a judge’s dismissal of its breach of contract claim.

The appeal of Woodford Construction came up for hearing on Friday, before Justices of Appeal Mira Dean-Armorer, Vasheist Kokaram and Malcolm Holdip who at the end of an all-day hearing, reserved their decision to a date to be fixed.

Woodford Construction appealed the November 22, 2018, decision of Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams who, in her ruling, held that the contractor’s contract with Readymix was not prematurely and wrongfully terminated.

In her decision, Quinlan-Williams held she was satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that Readymix had good cause to terminate the contract, dismissing Woodford Contruction’s claim for damages.

In Woodford Construction’s claim, the company argued it had a contract with Readymix for the excavation and payment of high-quality pitrun from its Bermudez Quarry.

Readymix alleged it was not satisfied Woodford verified the actual quantity of pitrun extracted and removed from the quarry between the period November 2013-July 2015.

Woodford was required to pay Readymix $21 plus VAT for a cubic yard of pitrun and excavated approximately 214,332 cubic yards during the period in question.

In 2015, Readymix advised of the termination of the contract, giving no other reason than it had “embarked on a comprehensive review of its operations.” The termination notice also said the company has decided that it would be in the best interest of all stakeholders to discontinue the current structure.

In defence of the claim, Readymix maintained there was an implied term in its contract that entitled it to terminate with immediate effect if pitrun was “carried past” Readymix’s checker without stopping for it to be verified.

The company asserted that on three occasions, Woodford’s truck left the quadrant without being checked and this breach amounted to a “theft of Readymix’s pitrun supply.”

In arguing the appeal for Woodford, senior counsel Anand Ramlogan argued that Readymix kept changing the goal post looking for a way out in an attempt to justify its actions.

He said at first they said the termination was because of “reorganisation” of its operations, then it alleged the contract was illegal since Woodford did not have a mining licence.

He said Woodford was not to blame since there was no need for Woodford to have a separate mining licence.

He added that it was only after the Mexican-owned Cemex Ltd took over Readymix’s operations, did the company allege his client was operating illegally.

Ramlogan said there was “not a single line” in the judge’s decision to show she paid regard to the constant shifting of Readymix’s case.

He also complained of the finding of conspiracy in relation to the alleged theft of pitrun.

“She made a judgment on a case not argued or pleaded.”

In resisting the appeal, Readymix’s attorney Jason Mootoo maintained the company was entitled to terminate the contract and the judge was entitled to consider the admissible evidence before her.

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Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has described as ‘heartbreaking’, Friday night’s shooting death of Travis Lionel at Morne du Don, Castries.

“Again heartbreaking. Not the best situation for us to be in,” Pierre, responsible for National Security, told reporters on Monday.

“The police force has assured me that they are trying their best, but not to make excuses that seems to be a trend in the entire region – in the entire world,” the Castries East MP observed.

“There seems to be a trend. Something is happening where people seem to be not able to resolve their conflicts without violence,” Pierre stated.

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He noted the need for a change in attitudes and for people to feel better about each other.

And the Saint Lucia Prime Minister spoke of dissent and outright lies being perpetuated in the country at this time.

Pierre called on people who do it to ‘please stop’ without going into details.

“We are living in a world where there is a global crisis. Do not instigate people to behave in ways that you know they should not behave – behave in ways that will not improve the situation. We can do literally nothing to change what is happening in Ukraine and Russia. No one can do anything,” he declared.

In addition, Pierre disclosed plans for a multi-stakeholder consultation to develop solutions.

“We are going to make an announcement next week to invite everybody – all the stakeholders the trade unions, civil society. Let’s come together and let’s talk about your solutions. I am going to invite the opposition – your solution to inflation that is worldwide, your solution to the supply chain problems. Your solution to the war in Ukraine,” he explained.

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“Affable, amiable and articulate” – that’s how the Barbados Bar Association President Rosalind Smith Millar QC has described the late Ezra Alleyne.

Stating that the Bar is today mourning the loss of a member, friend and colleague, Ezra Ederson Alleyne, who passed away on Sunday 10th July 2022, she wrote:

“Ezra was well-known as a teacher, a prolific writer, politician and lawyer. His regular Sunday newspaper columns encompassed all of those attributes, seeking to educate and stimulate thought about our political landscape and who we are as Bajans.

“Ezra will be missed.”

Smith Millar in the statement extended sincere condolences to his colleagues, friends and loved ones, his wife, Tasseia, and his children, on behalf of the Bar.

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Alexandre Labat-Mars
Lundi 11 Juillet 2022 – 17h11

Selon une étude de l’Insee parue ce 11 juillet, un habitant de Martinique sur dix vit avec moins de 1010 euros par mois et deux sur cinq sont en situation de privation matérielle et sociale. 

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