Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
WOLFE
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW HUMPHREY McPherson is pursuing a battle in the Court of Appeal to recover his motor vehicle which was seized to recover legal costs in the slander suit he had brought against Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe.
After McPherson's suit was thrown out in the Supreme Court in November 2002, costs were assessed in February this year in the sum of $422,819 with interest at 12 per cent from November 2002, to the date of payment.
AUTHORITY TO SEIZE
The law firm DunnCox, which represented the Chief Justice, filed an order in April for seizure and sale to recover the legal costs. The order, which was approved by the registrar of the Supreme Court, was sent to the bailiff for Kingston. The order gave the bailiff the authority to seize and sell goods and chattel belonging to McPherson to recover the amount.
McPherson claimed in court documents that on September 16, the bailiff seized his 1986 Isuzu pickup van which aided his law practice. McPherson said he had to stop the bailiff from taking his computer and filing cabinet because they were "tools and implements" he used on the job.
As a result of the seizure of his motor vehicle, McPherson went to the Supreme Court seeking to have it returned. Justice Campbell heard the application and refused it. The judge granted McPherson leave to appeal his ruling. McPherson took the issue to the Court of Appeal but Justice Algernon Smith reviewed the file and said no notice of appeal was filed against Justice Campbell's order of September 22.
He will be going to the Court of Appeal next to make an application for Justice Smith's order to be set aside. He is contending that he did not have to file a notice of appeal because the case was already before the Court of Appeal.
McPherson had appealed against Justice Basil Reid's decision that the slander suit was misconceived, but it was struck out last year by the Court of Appeal. The court held that McPherson did not turn up to pursue the appeal. McPherson said he is seeking to have the appeal restored on the court list.
