The Court of Appeal has thrown out a legal challenge by former Trinidad and Tobago Regiment officer Timothy Maloney, ruling against his claim that the Defence Force unfairly blocked his promotion before retirement.
Maloney argued his constitutional rights were breached after he was denied advancement from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant despite assurances and being included in a promotion ceremony line-up. But the court found he was facing active disciplinary investigations at the time and was therefore not in good standing.
Judges also pointed to his acceptance of sanctions linked to allegations involving altered payslips and false job letters, dismissing claims of unfair treatment and ordering him to pay the State’s legal costs.
He alleged breaches of due process, natural justice, equality and the protection of the law, claiming the Defence Force improperly delayed his promotion recommendation, relied on undisclosed allegations and denied him a fair opportunity to challenge decisions affecting his career. Maloney also argued he had a legitimate expectation of promotion based on verbal assurances from Lt Col Patrick Gomez and his inclusion in a promotion ceremony line-up before being removed.
However, the Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court that he failed to establish any constitutional breach.
The judges found there was no evidence of an unusual or unreasonable delay in processing his promotion recommendation and ruled that he was not in “good standing” while promotion decisions were being considered because he was facing active disciplinary investigations.
The court also found that Maloney later accepted disciplinary sanctions arising from allegations that he altered payslips and manipulated salary deductions to obtain false job letters for financial institutions.
According to the judgment, Maloney faced 26 charges and, during a summary trial on June 29, 2016, elected not to contest them and accepted a severe reprimand rather than pursue a court-martial. The court said that the decision effectively brought the disciplinary matter to an end and undermined any subsequent claim to promotion.
The judges also rejected claims that Maloney had been treated unequally, finding he failed to identify any similarly situated officer facing disciplinary issues who remained in good standing and received a promotion. Maloney was represented by Farai Hove Masaisai and Angelia Faith Nanan, instructed by Akinola Goodridge and Shantelle Lake.
The Attorney General was represented by Jinai Chong Sing, Avion Romain and Makeda Browne-Alfred, instructed by Rachel Wright.
