CCJ dismisses land matter appeal from Dominica

CCJ Headquarters

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today dismissed an appeal in the matter of Gloria Shillingford v. Angel Andrew. Mr. Andrew had given Ms. Shillingford, his sister, power of attorney to sell property belonging to him.

However, Mr. Andrew claimed that Shillingford then made unauthorised payments to herself, her daughter and their cousin Mr. Hilary Shillingford with whom she had also entered into an exclusive agreement and had paid a commission.

The High Court of Dominica and the Court of Appeal had ordered her to repay him approximately EC$1.7 million. The CCJ affirmed the decisions of the courts below to repay Mr. Andrew and ordered that Ms. Shillingford pay his basic costs.

The trial judge, Mr. Justice Cottle, found that the payments to Mr. Shillingford were made without authority and that the exclusive agreement was no more than a fiction concocted by him and Ms. Shillingford in an effort to withhold a substantial part of the proceeds of the sale from Mr. Andrew.

The Court of Appeal agreed with Cottle J and found that those payments were unauthorised.

The dominant issue of law in the courts below was that Ms. Shillingford had no authority to engage their cousin as an agent and grant him “the exclusive right to sell” the lands for a period of six months.

In Ms. Shillingford’s appeal at the CCJ, it was noted that she “no longer sought to reverse the findings of the Court of Appeal, but she sought to bypass them” so the appeal could go nowhere on the merit of the case.

The CCJ also examined Ms. Shillingford’s leading ground of appeal at the hearing which was that the trial should be voided because the judge had allowed the trial to proceed despite violations of procedural rules; that the witness statements for Mr. Andrews’ had been delivered late and that the trial bundles had been delivered the night before the trial was to start.

The CCJ observed that the trial transcript showed that at the beginning of the trial, Mr. Andrews’ attorney had disclosed the violations, had apologised for, and gave reasons for filing the trial bundles late.

The attorneys for the other defendants, were fully heard on the matter. The Court found it striking that Ms. Shillingford’s counsel had not uttered a single word of protest.

The CCJ dismissed the appeal, affirmed the decisions of the courts below, as between the parties to the appeal, and ordered that Ms. Shillingford pay Mr. Andrew’s costs. It was also ordered that the stay of execution pending appeal, granted by the Court of Appeal be removed, including the repayment of the funds to Mr. Andrew.

The full judgment of the Court is available on the Court’s website at www.ccj.org.

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15 Comments

  1. KID ON THE BLOCK
    February 8, 2019

    Very interesting… So Hilary, the UWP mouthpiece,” concocted a fiction in an effort to withhold a substantial part of the proceeds of the sale from Mr. Andrew?”
    I see, but is they so that calling people thief and corrupt. Hear him on the radio bashing Skerrit and the DLP and the government involve in corruption.
    MAN TO MAN IS SO UNJUST.

  2. OBJECTIVE
    February 7, 2019

    :?: What does that have to do with either DLP or UWP :?: If UWP is to be crucified because of Hillary Shillingford, then DLP should be crucified because of Gloria Shillingford! :?: Based on what I read Hillary Shillingford should not be blamed,it’s Gloria Shillingford who proposed to him to be an agent. A Dominican never fail to amaze me with their biased dirty partisan politics! Even Honourable Lennox Linton some of you chose to mention :?: What a people some of you are!!!As a matter of fact,this is a private family issue which happens to be in the news because of the CCJ’s ruling.

    • February 8, 2019

      This is not the Gloria Shillingford who was a former DLP candidate for wesley and cabinet minister, it is a different person they just happen to have the same first and last name.

  3. LmaO
    February 7, 2019

    The dominant issue of law in the courts below was that Ms. Shillingford had no authority to engage their cousin as an agent and grant him “the exclusive right to sell” the lands for a period of six months

    We know who is Hilary. So who is Gloria Shillingford?

    • February 8, 2019

      Gloria Shillingford-Burnette is SISTER to Angel
      Hilary Shillingford is COUSIN to both Gloria and Angel

  4. Man bites dogs
    February 7, 2019

    Linton, Let us see how you going to handle Hilary Shillingford, Now with all that big mouth and crap you always talking on radio + TV, show us that “No face bolt face” otherwise in my opinion both you Linton, and Hilary Shillingford must Go Now, while you at it take that powder man Joshua Francis with you guys.

  5. ferbrese
    February 7, 2019

    I wonder who are the lawyers involved.. the part that the lawyer said nothing is a cause for concern

    • Screw Neo DLP & UWP
      February 7, 2019

      He she It got their money already solater for the shillingfords the pence even the pounds sterling.
      Jokers. Let linton go back to Between me & you or he & dem. A new prty with the un tainted is needed just about now Neo DLP is BS and should be all jailed with charges pending till 2059 plus 2004-19 long as these Dr.Dr Clown is in power so that would take dem into 2064. Let dem die in jail b4 hearing the trial

    • February 8, 2019

      Representing – Angel Andrews- Mr Michael Bruney
      ” ” ” – Gloria Shillingford-Burnette – Lennox Lawrence
      ” ” ” – Hilary Shillingford – Cara Shillingford

  6. Lol
    February 7, 2019

    Helary Shillingford< the UWP mouthpiece, well, well, well.

  7. Lol
    February 7, 2019

    Is that the same Shillingford?

  8. Man bites dogs
    February 7, 2019

    Hilary Shillingford, You should be ashamed of yourself, you are the wicked one who been calling other people corrupt and corruption in the Labour government, now look at you it just to show that you guys in that so-called criminal workers party are the corrupt ones for all to see with the same Dna wicked wicked and nasty sets of people who will never prosper in life.

  9. Man bites dogs
    February 7, 2019

    Hilary Shillingford, You should be ashamed of yourself and you are the wicked one who is always calling other people corrupt and corruption in the Labour government, now look at you it just to show all off you in that so-called criminal worker party has the same Dna in you all bodies.

  10. Zandoli
    February 7, 2019

    I have heard of so many similar cases where family members trust another only to be betrayed later. When some of these people see a large sum of money it’s almost like they cannot control themselves. I don’t know what why people cannot respect other people’s property.

  11. Bob Denis
    February 6, 2019

    It takes Man/Woman a lifetime to realize that the material things they quench for , and lose their sanity over , in truety , is all an illusion . A very disturbing episode , when dirty linen is washed in waste water , then again , Greed is one of Man/Woman greatest of all ILL’S . The Rivers of Dominica are flowing over .

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