Pensioner takes Cabinet to court

ALMOST a year after Cabinet agreed to the appointment of the National Insurance Appeals Tribunal, a new board has been appointed.

Acknowledgment of the appointment of the board by President Paula-Mae Weekes came from lead counsel for the Cabinet and the Attorney General, at an emergency hearing of an injunction sought by pensioner Ivan Palloo. Hearing the matter in the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain was Justice Nadia Kangaloo.

Palloo had challenged the Cabinet’s failure to advise the president on the appointment of the appeals tribunal.

Senior Counsel Russell Martineau, who appeared for the Cabinet and the AG, said Palloo’s application was a waste of the court’s vacation time.

“I don’t see the big rush,” he argued, as he disclosed that the new board was appointed on Monday.

Martineau referred to a letter from the Office of the Attorney General on July 25, in which it was admitted that Cabinet appointed nine members to the appeals tribunal on August 17, 2017, but after a year, or half of the approved life of the board, the tribunal had not been appointed owing to administrative and legal concerns.

He said the Cabinet did what it had to do, as he argued that there was a lack of evidence to support Palloo’s claim that there was inaction on the Cabinet’s part to advise the president.

Palloo’s attorney Gerald Ramdeen agreed that the injunction being sought was no longer required, since the board had been appointed on Monday, but he said there were still issues to be ventilated, including the declaratory reliefs sought by his client.

Directions were given for filing affidavits and submissions in the new term and the matter was adjourned.

In his lawsuit, Palloo said he turned 60 in October 2010, and was told by the National Insurance Board he had only made 715 contributions and was missing contributions from 1985-1989.

He said in 2016, he applied for the retirement benefit and a decision was made that he was not entitled to receive a pension since he had not made the minimum number of contributions.

Palloo said he was sent a cheque for $3,816.60, representing what he was entitled to get from the NIB.

He decided to appeal to the appeals tribunal, but was told the tenure of the last board had expired, and the tribunal was not properly constituted to determine his appeal.

Also representing Palloo was Darrell Allahar, while Zelica Haynes-Soo Hoo also appeared for the Cabinet and AG.