Court orders Unicomer to compensate homeowner

A HIGH COURT has ordered Unicomer (Trinidad) Ltd – the parent company for furniture and appliance retailer Courts – to compensate a Freeport man for nuisance. The court found that the man was inconvenienced by the company’s construction of its headquarters and distribution centre in 2017.

Last week, Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams ruled that construction work by the company amounted to a nuisance. She ordered the company to pay $15,000 a day in compensation from February 24 to March 12, 2017.

She also ordered that the company pay two per cent interest on the compensation sum until the date of payment as well as $35,437.55 in legal costs.

In his lawsuit, Baldeo Mohansingh, of Calcutta Road, Freeport, claimed Unicomer infringed on his road access when it began building a wall around its facility which borders his property. He also claimed that the wall blocked off five windows to his home, interfering with the natural sunlight and airflow.

While she upheld his claim for nuisance, Quinlan-Williams did not rule for damage to property. Mohansingh said he lived at Calcutta Road for over 36 years.

He was represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Alvin Pariagsingh, Che Dindial and Robert Abdool-Mitchell, while Unicomer was represented by Colvin Blaze, Alexi McKell, Jeunille Trancoso-Blackman and Maurice Fermin.