CLF shareholders lose in court

A group of CL Financial (CLF) shareholders who hoped to take to the Privy Council, their fight against a judge’s decision to appoint provisional liquidators, has been denied permission by the Court of Appeal.

In an oral ruling on Monday, Justices of Appeal Nolan Bereaux, Gregory Smith and Andre des Vignes agreed with attorneys for the State that the final order of the court for liquidation of CLF and the appointment of two joint liquidators in September, rendered the appeal academic. The group, who unsuccessfully sought to enter the case, sought to challenge a Court of Appeal decision to appoint the provisional liquidators before Justice Kevin Ramcharan’s final order for the winding-up of CLF and the appointment of the joint liquidators. In a separate appeal, they have also challenged Ramcharan’s winding-up order.

The group’s lawyer Navindra Ramnanan argued that the appellate court wrongly made a final determination in July as it related to the insolvency of CLF and that Ramcharan had no jurisdiction to make his own independent inquiry on the solvency issue when it was bound by the higher court’s finding. The shareholders were also ordered to pay the State’s costs in the appeal. Also appearing for the Government was attorney Ravi Heffes-Doon.