A High Court Judge has resolved a long-standing dispute over ownership of almost 275 acres of land in north Trinidad.
Delivering a judgment yesterday, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad upheld Rabindranath and Ramdath Maharaj’s case against Zalimoon Khan and Randolph Hicks, the administrator of the estate of Anghelo Hicks.
In the lawsuit, the Maharajs sought to have a set of caveats on the land removed.
Khan claimed that in July 1996, she and Hicks entered into an agreement with the relatives to purchase a 49 per cent stake in the land for $250,000 in order for them to cut timber on it. The Claimants denied that there was a sale agreement but claimed that they had agreed to a lease arrangement.
Khan admitted that she and Anghelo had agreed to pay $12,000 a year in rent but denied the Maharajs’ claim that they agreed to pay $8,000 a month.
In determining the lawsuit, Justice Seepersad had to analyse a purported agreement between the parties allegedly signed at a branch of a popular fast food franchise in July 1996.
He noted that the two expert witnesses Dr Laurie Hoeltzel and Glenn Parmassar, who considered the document, proffered conflicting opinions on whether the claimants had signed it.
“The court having looked at the questioned signatures and the exemplars noticed that there appeared to be obvious and significant visual differences between them and ultimately preferred Dr Hoeltzel’s opinion,” he said.
Dealing with the terms of the agreement, Justice Seepersad noted that there was no mention of the sale.
He also took issue with Khan’s evidence which he suggested appeared to be fabricated.
“Ultimately, the court also felt that her version of the events lacked plausibility,” he said, as he suggested that the payments made to the Maharajs represented the rent.
Justice Seepersad ruled that caveats on the land were lodged without reasonable cause.
“Based on the evidence, this court is of the view that the first defendant (Khan) could not have had an honest belief based on reasonable grounds that she had acquired any interest in the said parcels of land,” he said.
While Justice Seepersad expunged the caveats, he only awarded the Maharajs $5,000 in compensation.
“The claimants have not pleaded any loss or damage arising from the existence of the caveats and although it is possible that over the course of the last 20 to 25 years there may have been prospective purchases for the said lands no such evidence was adduced,” he said.
The claimants were represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Che Dindial, and Vishaal Siewsaran of Freedom Law Chambers.
Khan was represented by Douglas Mendes, SC, and Bryan McCutcheon.
