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PROCEDURE
Michael Paul Chen-Young and others (Appellants) v Eagle Merchant Bank Jamaica Ltd and 3 others (Respondents) (Jamaica)
Case summary
Case ID
JCPC/2019/0101
Jurisdiction
Jamaica
Parties
Appellant(s)
Michael Paul Chen-Young and others
Respondent(s)
Eagle Merchant Bank Jamaica Ltd and others
Issue
(1) Whether the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to determine an allegation of breach of constitutional rights on grounds of delay in circumstances where that allegation was made for the first time during the course of the appeal.(2) Whether a litigant is entitled to their thrown away legal costs in respect of an appeal hearing which was nullified due to the judge’s failure to comply with provisions of the Constitution.(3) Whether the 2013 Court of Appeal hearing was a nullity.
Facts
In mid-1997, the shareholders of the Respondents – including the First Appellant – sold their shares to the Government of Jamaica for one Jamaican dollar. Following this, the Respondents filed a claim against the appellants claiming damages for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, negligence and conversion.In 2006, the Supreme Court of Jamaica gave judgment for the Respondents, after which the Appellants appealed to the Court of Appeal. The appeal was heard in March 2013 by Panton P., McIntosh J.A. and Dukharan J.A., who reserved judgment.Before they gave judgment, each of the three judges reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 without applying to the Governor General under section 106(2) of the Jamaican Constitution for permission to continue in office for such period as to enable them to deliver their judgment. As a result, the Appellants filed a motion to vacate the hearing.In December 2017, the Court of Appeal purported to deliver its judgment, however in April 2018 that judgment was declared to be a nullity by a differently constituted Court of Appeal. In doing so, however, the Court of Appeal made no order as to compensation for legal costs in respect of the March 2013 hearing as well as the motion to vacate the hearing.
Date of issue
19 September 2019
Judgment details
Judgment date
18 July 2022
Neutral citation
[2022] UKPC 30
Judgment links
Appeal
Justices
Hearing dates
Start date
23 June 2022
End date
23 June 2022
Watch hearings
23 June 2022 - Afternoon session
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Last updated 9 May 2024