Roman Catholic Archbishop Jason Gordon has obtained an injunction against a vendor, who is allegedly squatting on a parcel of land in Paramin, Maraval, owned by the church.
On Friday, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad partially granted an injunction sought by Gordon against Jason St Hilaire over the land located along Saut D’Eau Road in Maraval.
Gordon was initially seeking to have St Hilaire barred from accessing a wooden shack he erected on the property as well as completing a separate concrete structure.
After hearing submissions from Gordon’s legal team during a virtual hearing, Justice Seepersad only agreed to block St Hilaire from continuing construction on the new structure.
However, he allowed St Hilaire to access the land and use the wooden structure to continue to ply his trade whilst a substantive lawsuit over the property is being determined.
He was also ordered to refrain from assaulting, abusing, or intimidating Gordon or his agents.
According to court filings, obtained by Guardian Media, the church acquired the land in 1995 and it was monitored and maintained by the property management department of its Maraval parish.
In 2016, the church began to fence the land but could not complete the project due to insufficient financing.
In June, the priest at the Lady of Guadeloupe Church in Maraval reported that St Hilaire was constructing the concrete structure on the land.
Church officials attempted to serve St Hilaire with an eviction notice but he (St Hilaire) reportedly refused to accept it and was hostile toward them.
They returned with police officers to survey the land but were prevented from demolishing the structures as they did not have a court order.
The substantive case is scheduled to be heard and determined by Justice Seepersad in November.
Gordon was represented by Gregory Delzin, Dianne Mano, and Shauntelle Wilson.
