A homeless man has been given a lifeline in his novel legal bid to block the Port-of-Spain City Corporation from locking him and other homeless people out of Tamarind Square at nights.
Almost one month after Hugh Bernard was denied permission by Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell to pursue his judicial review claim against the corporation for implementing the measure without providing alternative facilities, the corporation yesterday withdrew its challenge of his appeal on the issue.
Appellate Judges Peter Jamadar, Gregory Smith and Charmaine Pemberton heard several hours of submissions on the appeal of Donaldson-Honeywell's decision and were about to rule on the issue when the corporation's attorney John Jeremie, SC, intervened.
However, Jeremie was careful to note that the decision was not a concession of the entire case but was a tactical and pragmatic move by the corporation.
He also gave an undertaking that the corporation would leave one of the five gates to the park open until the lawsuit is determined.
Bernard filed the claim earlier this year after the corporation erected fences along the perimeter of the park in East Port-of-Spain and placed padlocks on its gates. He claimed that he has been homeless since being deported from the United States in 1993 and has been living on the streets as the Centre for the Socially Displaced at Riverside car-park (located opposite Tamarind Square) was unfit for human habitation.
In his claim, Bernard's attorneys also alleged that under the Municipal Corporations Act, the corporation was not allowed to limit access to public parks without enacting by-laws, which was not done in this case. In addition to seeking to have the corporation reverse its decision, Bernard was also asking the court to order the corporation to construct temporary facilities at the location to accommodate homeless people.
In dismissing Bernard's claim, Donaldson-Honeywell said she felt that he should have filed a constitutional motion alleging breaches to his constitutional rights instead of a judicial review challenging the corporation's decision.
The issue again arose on appeal yesterday, with Bernard's lawyer Christopher Hamel-Smith, SC, claiming that his client would decide his next move when the case returns before Donaldson-Honeywell.
Bernard is also being represented by Imran Ali and Krystal Richardson, while Eduardo Martinez and Kerwyn Garcia appeared alongside Jeremie.