In a landmark ruling concluding one of Trinidad and Tobago’s longest-running familial legal disputes, the High Court has mandated the disbursement of over $5 million from court-held trust funds to settle decades-old costs between warring brothers. Justice Robin Mohammed delivered the decisive judgment that will see Joseph and Robert Elias receive payment from their brother Emile Elias’s share of their mother’s estate.
The protracted legal conflict originated in 1985 with probate litigation concerning the estate of their father, Nagib Elias. The recent proceedings centered on enforcing costs orders from litigation in both 1985 and 1995. The judgment creditors, Joseph and Robert Elias, acting as executors of their father’s estate, sought recovery of $4.9 million in outstanding costs that they claimed Emile had persistently refused to pay.
Justice Mohammed’s ruling established crucial legal precedents regarding limitation periods, determining that the Limitation of Personal Actions Ordinance—not the Limitation of Certain Actions Act—governed the dispute. This finding enabled the recovery of both principal amounts and accrued interest dating back to the original proceedings.
The court quantified the debt at a principal sum of $1,578,482.27 as of 2012. Following a partial payment of $400,000 in 2016, the outstanding principal stood at $1,178,482.26. The court calculated accrued interest at $3,892,677.74 as of December 9, with daily interest continuing to accumulate at $161.43.
The enforcement mechanism targeted Emile Elias’s entitlement to a one-fourth share (US$983,505.50) of a trust established under the will of Linda Elias, which had been paid into court earlier this year pending resolution of these proceedings.
Justice Mohammed rejected Emile’s limitation defense, noting that acknowledgments and partial payments had effectively restarted any limitation period. Both parties agreed that appointing a receiver was unnecessary since the funds were already under court control.
The court awarded costs to the judgment creditors at a discounted rate of 75 percent, citing missed settlement opportunities and the unfortunate familial nature of the dispute. Justice Mohammed expressed hope that this ruling would finally conclude the four-decade legal battle between the brothers.
Legal representation included Deborah Peake, SC, Ravi Heffes-Doon and Samuel Harrison for Joseph and Robert Elias, while Douglas Mendes, SC, Jason Mootoo, SC and Adrian Byrne represented Emile Elias.