The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has lost its appeal before the Privy Council and now has to pay $2.2 million in compensation to a Princes Town couple whose home was destroyed by a leaking pipeline.
In a written judgment, the five-member Privy Council board ruled, “This second appeal has been brought without heeding the settled practice of the Board that it will not, save in special circumstances, review concurrent findings of fact made by two lower courts. It is an appeal which should not have been brought, as it was bound to fail.”
Darwin and Kamalar Sahadath sued WASA for negligence, claiming that its failure to repair a leaking pipe between 2012 and 2014 caused a landslip and led to their four-storey home slipping down a 20 feet slope and sinking 12 feet.
Their home at Iere Village Branch Road subsequently became unfit for occupancy and was damaged beyond repair.
WASA, however, denied that a leak from its pipeline had caused the landslide.
“Admittedly, the Authority advanced no positive case and adduced no evidence to suggest that the landslide had any other cause,” Lord Leggatt stated.
The Law Lords noted that in his judgment, the trial judge made clearly reasoned findings that the damage to the road, land slippage and consequent damage to the claimants’ home were caused by a leak or leaks from the pipeline for which the Authority was responsible and which it failed to repair in a proper or timely manner.
Contacted for a comment following their victory yesterday, Darwin said the journey was a headache for his family.
“I hope they pay it fast so I could clear my debts.”
The couple is now living in a rental property.
In the judgment, Lord Legatt stated that the Authority advanced no positive case and adduced no evidence to suggest that the landslide had any other cause. He noted that in his judgment, the trial judge, Justice Vasheist Kokaram, made clearly reasoned findings that the damage to the road, land slippage and consequent damage to the claimants’ home were caused by a leak or leaks from the pipeline for which the Authority was responsible and which it failed to repair in a proper or timely manner.
The judge awarded damages based on the cost of rebuilding the claimants’ house, along with other consequential losses, in a total sum of $2,218,954 (plus interest).
In its first appeal before the Court of Appeal, the Authority contended that the judge did not have sufficient evidence to find that its leaking pipeline had caused the landslide.
WASA’s attorneys had submitted that the judge had been wrong to attribute any weight to the evidence of the claimants’ experts.
“The Court of Appeal concluded that there was no sufficient basis for interfering with the judge’s finding that, as a matter of fact, the leaking pipeline caused the damage,” Lord Legatt noted.
WASA’s attorneys had advanced two arguments why their appeal should be heard but the Privy Council found that they were without merit.
Lord Legatt stated, “It is apparent from the very way in which the agreed statement of issues is framed that what the Authority wanted the Board to do was to undertake our own assessment of whether the evidence at the trial was sufficient to prove that the leaks from the Authority’s pipeline caused the damage to the claimants’ home and to substitute our opinion on this issue for the concurrent findings of the courts below. No properly arguable reason has been given for inviting the Board to undertake this exercise. For these reasons, the appeal must be dismissed.”
WASA was ordered to pay the couple’s costs of the appeal on the indemnity, unless it shows good reason why such an order should not be made in written submissions filed within 21 days.
The Sahadaths were represented by attorneys Lary Lalla and Vikash Indar Lal instructed by Alisa Khan, while WASA was represented by attorneys Keston McQuilkin and Alivia Mootoo instructed by Charles Russell Speechlys LLP.
