Richard Taylor Assistant Superintendent of Police (Respondent) v Natalie Natasha Spring and another (Appellants) (Trinidad and Tobago)

Hearing listed

Case summary
Appeal

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2023/0103

Jurisdiction

Trinidad and Tobago

Parties

Appellant(s)

(1) Natalie Natasha Spring, (2) The Estate of Sheldon Spring

Respondent(s)

Richard Taylor Assistant Superintendent of Police (AG)

Issue

Did the Court of Appeal err in its interpretation of the Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth Act No.8 of 2019 (the “Act”) in finding that the Preliminary Unexplained Wealth Order (“PUWO”) originally imposed under that Act and then set aside by the High Court could be reinstated, including as against the Estate of Sheldon Spring?

Facts

The First Appellant, Natalie Spring, and Sheldon Spring were married. Sheldon Spring was murdered on 12 January 2018 and Natalie Spring was appointed as the administrator of the Second Appellant, the Estate of Sheldon Spring. On 5 December 2019, the Respondent made an application for a PUWO in respect of properties identified during the course of the investigations into the Appellants. The Respondent submitted an affidavit accompanying the application which stated that he had a reasonable suspicion that the total wealth of the Appellants exceeded the value of their lawfully obtained wealth, the value of the properties exceeded the value of their lawfully obtained wealth and the properties were either owned or under the effective control of the Appellants. With respect to the context for the Respondent’s application, the affidavits filed along with the application stated that Natalie and Sheldon Spring had both previously been the subject of police investigations. In the course of the investigations, Sheldon Spring faced seventeen charges during the period from 1995 to 2017 and was convicted on three occasions of offences relating to possession of cocaine. Natalie Spring faced ten charges during the period from 2005 to 2015 and was convicted on two occasions. One of the convictions was for an offence relating to possession of cocaine. Six charges against Natalie Spring remained pending as of the date of the judgment of the Court of Appeal. The investigations relevant to this appeal were concluded in 2017. In December 2019, the High Court granted the application for a PUWO against the Appellants. Pursuant to an application made by the Appellants, the High Court subsequently set the PUWO aside. The Court of Appeal allowed the Respondent’s appeal and reinstated the PUWO. The Appellants now appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.