The State has petitioned the Privy Council for permission to appeal a landmark $20 million judgment awarded to nine men previously charged with the murder of businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman. This move follows the Court of Appeal’s refusal to grant conditional leave for the appeal. The application, filed in London in October, was denied on November 7, with the Court of Appeal providing its reasoning for the decision.
The case originated from a default judgment in favor of the nine men—Shervon and Devon Peters, Anthony Gloster, Joel Fraser, Ronald Armstrong, Keida Garcia, Jameel Garcia, Marlon Trimmingham, and Antonio Charles—for unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution. The State failed to defend the claim, leading to a Master’s assessment of damages totaling $18.9 million plus interest, bringing the sum to over $20 million.
In January 2021, High Court judge Joan Charles ruled in the men’s favor after the State neglected to defend the claim. However, in December 2023, Charles reversed her decision, citing improper service of legal documents to the Attorney General’s office. The Appeal Court later reinstated the compensation in June, prompting the State to seek conditional leave to appeal, which was denied.
Justice Nolan Bereaux, leading the three-member panel, emphasized that the Attorney General’s application did not meet the constitutional threshold for appeal under Sections 109(1)(a) and 109(2)(a) of the Constitution. He noted that the decision to dismiss the application to set aside the default judgment was not a “final decision” in civil proceedings and thus did not qualify for an appeal as of right.
Bereaux also criticized the State’s handling of the case, highlighting the three-year delay in challenging the default judgment and the lack of defense during the initial proceedings. He described the delay as “a problem of the respondent’s own making” and dismissed the argument that the court had inherent jurisdiction to set aside the default judgment outside the Civil Procedure Rules.
The Privy Council has yet to decide on the special leave application. The nine men are represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, and Ganesh Saroop, while the State is represented by Rolston Nelson, SC, Ria Mohammed-Davidson, and Elena Araujo.