Derek Achong.
A High Court Judge has dismissed an attempt by the owner of a driving school to prevent the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) from evicting him from its transportation hub in San Juan.
Justice Frank Seepersad was expected to deal with the injunction application during a virtual hearing yesterday morning, but dismissed it after lawyers representing Stanislaus Huggins indicated that are willing to have settlement discussions with the PTSC.
Seepersad advised the parties to hold discussions on a payment plan for Huggins to clear the $16,414 in rent arrears he owes.
“The undeniable reality is that the pandemic has occasioned immeasurable economic distress and what may be required isn’t an inflexible attachment to strict enforcement of legal rights but a measure of flexibility accompanied by a degree of humanity to enable all concerned to make the best of a bad situation,” Seepersad said.
He adjourned the case to next Tuesday, when the parties are expected to report back on their discussions.
According to the court filings in the case, in 2018 Huggins, who offers driving lessons and defensive driving classes, rented two booths at the San Juan Priority Mall from the PTSC at a rate of $665 a month.
In his filings, Huggins claimed that when he attempted to pay the rent the corporation’s cashier informed him that he could not get a receipt as he was not in its computer database.
He claimed that he withheld the rent as he began to write to the corporation to correct the issue.
He said that the corporation did not demand payment until July, this year.
He claimed that he offered to clear the debt in six instalments but the corporation refused, issued him with an eviction notice, and placed locks on the doors to the booths with his personal items still inside.
Huggins is being represented by Lloyd Elcock and Melissa Hanoomansingh.