The State has appealed a decision of a High Court judge who last month ruled that 250 Clico policyholders should be repaid their full investments in the failed insurance giant.The T&T Guardian was reliably informed that the appeal was filed last Friday in the Court of Appeal's registry at the Hall of Justice, Knox Street, Port-of-Spain.
The appeal consists of 21 grounds as well as an application for a stay of the judgment, which was delivered by Justice Joan Charles in the Port-of-Spain High Court on March 12. The stay being sought would expire on the completion of the appeal.As part of the application, state attorneys sought an emergency hearing of the Appeal Court to decide upon the stay. The matter will be heard next Monday.
In the judgment Charles ruled that the members of the United Policyholders Group were given a legitimate expectation their investments by the Government would be repaid. The total value of the claim was estimated to be in excess of $300 million.During the trial of the case, the group's attorneys refered to several speeches by government ministers and officials after the company's collapse in 2009.
In the 47-page judgment, Charles said: "I hold that the claimants are the beneficiaries of legitimate expectations engendered by representations made to them by or on behalf of the Government, that Government would ensure that their funds in Clico would be safe and that it would guarantee repayment of all monies owed to them and the Government would make good the deficit in the Statutory Fund."The group is being represented by Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.