FIVE Privy Council judges have sent back to the High Court a case involving a townhouse management company and businesswoman Sacha Singh.
As a result of the Privy Council’s ruling yesterday, the High Court will now have to reconsider its decision to order Singh to remove additions to her Rainbow Court, Sunrise Park, Trincity townhouse.
Singh was accused by Rainbow Court Townhouses — a company hired by Home Construction Ltd to managing the units — of breaching her lease for one of the townhouses by carrying out construction work inside and outside without approval.
Rainbow Court Townhouses (RCT) claimed the work done by Singh altered the appearance of the townhouse.
The local appellate court, in May 2016, upheld a previous decision of Justice Charmaine Pemberton who ruled that RCT was entitled to obtain summary judgement against Singh. Summary judgement is permitted when the court looks at the claim and decided that there is no need for a trial.
Pemberton found that Singh did not have an arguable defence.
In their ruling, Lords Reed, Kerr, Carnwath, Hughes, and Lady Black, held that the local judges erred when they failed to address the allegations made by Singh in her defence, and that she was wrong to enter summary judgment in favour of RCT. The property management company sued Singh in December 2014, after she began renovations on her townhouse.
Those works included erecting four columns in the front of the unit, changing the front and rear doors and the installation of a window in the kitchen area. She was ordered to remove the structures on the outside of the townhouse, as well as remove tiles, columns, electrical fixtures, a step, window, door and work done to the carports. Singh was also instructed to remove the internal modifications of adding a room and rearranging the architectural layout of the rooms.
In her defence, Singh said the work she did was no different to what other townhouse owners did, and that she was being targeted because they were not instructed to demolish the renovations nor was legal action taken against them.
She also claimed to have spoken to two officials of RCT before the work started and they did not oppose it. In their ruling, in which they said it was unfortunate that the case reached the Privy Council, the judges said after analysing photographs presented by Singh’s lawyers Robert Strang and Kiel Taklalsingh, the work to the front of the house was clearly in breach of the community’s uniform architecture policy.
However, it ruled that the other work complained of should have been more closely scrutinised by the local courts and sent the case back for a more detailed investigation of the alleged breaches.
“Although hard-fought it was a conventional neighbourhood dispute, raising no significant issue of general law or policy. The Board regrets the cost and delay with has resulted,” Carnwath said.
The townhouse management was represented by Brent Hallpike and Owen Roach.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FIVE Privy Council judges have sent back to the High Court a case involving a townhouse management company and businesswoman Sacha Singh.
As a result of the Privy Council’s ruling, the High Court will now have to reconsider its decision to order Singh to remove additions to her Rainbow Court, Sunrise Park, Trincity townhouse.
Singh was accused by Rainbow Court Townhouses - a company hired by Home Construction Ltd to manage the units - of breaching her lease for one of the townhouses by carrying out construction work inside and outside without approval.
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Rainbow Court Townhouses (RCT) claimed the work done by Singh altered the appearance of the townhouse.
The local appellate court, in May 2016, upheld a previous decision of Justice Charmaine Pemberton who ruled that RCT was entitled to obtain summary judgement against Singh.
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"Privy Council sends back Sacha townhouse case"