Panday ordered to pay costs

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday was yesterday ordered to pay costs to the State after leave was  granted to him by Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee to withdraw several matters against the State, which included malicious prosecution arising out of sexual charges laid against him in 1994. Panday had won those cases and had filed the matters seeking damages. However, his attorney Narendra Lalbeharry yesterday told the Port-of-Spain Third Civil Court Panday was withdrawing the matters because his witnesses had migrated and he would not be able to have them return. As a result, he was asking the judge to use her discretion and not award costs in the matters.

He said when the matters were filed in 1994/95, Panday was Leader of the Opposition, but later became Prime Minister and it would not have been proper for him to pursue the matter against the State. His witnesses have since migrated. The judge was of the view that in fairness to the other side, costs should be awarded to them. Panday had filed five matters in which he claimed; malicious prosecution of an arrest warrant, conspiracy to injure, malicious abuse of process, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment. Justice Rajnauth-Lee said since these matters were all related and were based on the same evidence, it would have been prudent for either party to have made an early application to consolidate them to save legal costs. She noted that when the matters came up for trial, such an application would have eventually be made.

After discussions with attorney Brian Busby, representing the Attorney General in the matter, and Lalbeharry, Justice Rajnauth-Lee decided that in calculating costs, the matters would be considered consolidated. She also noted that two of the matters had actually come up for hearing before Justice Joseph Tam in May this year and were sent to be listed with the others on the “Cause List.” In light of this, she ordered costs for trial in these two matters as well as for pleadings.