Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
A businessman has been ordered to halt renovation work on his multi-million dollar two-storey building in San Fernando pending a lawsuit filed by his neighbour.
On Thursday, High Court judge Frank Seepersad granted an ex parte judgment to Stressless International Ltd against businessman Sankar Mahabirsingh, who was also a Peoples National Movement candidate for the Mayaro seat in the 2020 general election.
The judge ordered that Mahabirsingh produce in court on Wednesday, the requisite approval documents for the construction works.
The order stated, “The Respondent/Defendant and/or his agents and/or his servants are restrained from carrying out any further construction works at the property situate at No 53 Lewis Street, San Fernando until he provides proof of Town and Country Planning Division and the San Fernando City Corporation approval for the renovation works completed and continuing for the same and until the issues of adverse possession and nuisance is determined by the Honourable Court.”
Mahabirsingh, his agents and servants were also told not to trespass on the claimant’s property. The property is presently being used by a law firm, Magnus Attorneys-at-Law.
The Notice of Application for Injunctive Relief filed by the claimant’s attorneys stated that last year, Mahabirsingh began to convert part of his property from a fully commercial building to a partly residential building. The claimant, however, believes the works commenced without the requisite planning permission from the Town and Country Planning Division and the San Fernando City Corporation.
In the document, the businessman is accused of affixing PVC fixtures and wastewater pipelines on the claimant’s side of a shared wall between the properties.
The document stated, “The said wastewater fixtures were affixed to the Claimant’s side of the shared wall over a period of weeks from around August 2023 without the Claimant’s consent and by the Defendant and/or his agents and/or his servants who trespassed on the Claimant’s property on multiple occasions during and outside working hours.”
Stressless International Ltd is contending that the PVC pipes and fixtures were placed on its property unlawfully and have caused damage to a portion of the wall.
They also contended that the pipes and fixtures pose a nuisance and a health hazard to the property and should have been placed on the defendant’s portion of the shared wall.
The claimant stated several reports were made to the San Fernando City Corporation and a representative from the Public Health Department visited the property and confirmed that the fixtures posed a health and safety hazard to the occupants and that no planning permission was given by the Corporation to do the works.
Stressless International Ltd is being represented attorney by Kristian Stacy Dass of Magnus Attorneys-Law-Law firm.