Derek Achong
A La Romaine man has been allowed to obtain a default judgement against the State for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution after it failed to file a defence to his lawsuit.
In a decision issued late last week, High Court judge Margaret Mohammed granted permission for Darlington Francois to enter a default judgement against the Office of the Attorney General after she dismissed an application from it to strike out Francois’ lawsuit.
According to the evidence in the case, Francois was arrested on August 18, 2020, while he and his family were engaged in a peaceful protest at the fast-food restaurant’s car park located next to their home at Bamboo Village in La Romaine over being evicted from their land.
Francois and his family claimed that they began occupying a parcel of land, which bounds the car park, between 1978 and 1980 and would use it as an access point to their home and to plant short-term crops.
Francois was detained by an estate inspector assigned to the restaurant and was taken to San Fernando Police Station, where he remained detained for five hours before being charged with using obscene language and resisting arrest.
Francois claimed that he was not questioned by police or asked to provide a statement before he was charged.
He was eventually granted bail by a Justice of the Peace (JP) and allowed to leave.
Francois made three court appearances in the San Fernando Magistrate’s Court before the charges were dismissed.
In the application, the AG’s Office stated that it could not be held liable in the case as Francois was arrested by an estate constable that was not employed by the T&T Police Service (TTPS) or a State corporate body.
In dismissing the application, Justice Mohammed ruled that the State had a case to answer as while Francois was arrested by a private security officer, police officers facilitated his detention and charged him for the offences.
She ruled that Francois could apply for the default judgement as the AG’s Office pursued the application without making another one to extend the deadline for filing its defence to the lawsuit.
Justice Mohammed did not assess the compensation for Francois, which would be calculated by a High Court Master at a later date.
Francois was represented by Edwin Roopnarine, while Mary Davis and Nairob Smart represented the State.