Attorney gets more time to repay client

The attorney who was given until March 2 to repay her client over $100,000 or risk going to jail for 60 days, has received a reprieve.

Attorney Kathy-Ann Mottley now has until June 1 to repay $103,000 to her former client Wendy Phillip or she will be arrested and jailed.

The extension was granted by Justice Frank Seepersad in the Port of Spain High Court on Monday, after Phillip agreed to give Mottley more time to pay.

Mottley was not in court for the hearing as Seepersad said she was identified by the registrar of the court, as one of the litigants who was denied entry to the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain because of the Judiciary’s covid19 policy.

Screening of the public, attorneys and staff, at all courthouses began on Monday. The process involves answering questions of recent travel history and health issue as well as the spraying of hands with sanitiser.

In February, Seepersad ordered Mottley to repay her client or go to jail after she failed to pay Phillip the remainder of a judgment sum awarded to her.

Phillip’s application was made under the Debtors Act which gives the court the jurisdiction to jail a debtor.

Mottley was hired by Phillip to represent her in a lawsuit involving her son who died in an accident. A default judgment was entered in Phillip’s favour as administrator of her son, Kareem Richards’ estate and was awarded damages, inclusive of costs and interest.

After the case ended, Phillip filed a complaint against Mottley with the disciplinary committee of the Law Association which found her guilty of professional misconduct on May 4, 2017. Mottley was ordered to reimburse Phillip $113,000, and was fined $10,000.

Mottley appealed the committee’s decision, but later withdrew it and agreed to pay her former client. She was also ordered to pay an additional $4,000 in costs for withdrawing the appeal, and interest which was calculated at $7,298 for two years and seven months the money was owed.

On May 3, 2019, Mottley paid Phillip $10,000 by cheque and told her she was in the process of “selling a property” to get the full amount but it was taking longer than expected.

Mottley said she would continue to make payments until the sum was paid in full, but she never did.

Phillip’s new attorney Brent Winter, after a series of correspondence sent to Mottley and her attorneys, filed the application to have her pay up the remaining debt by November 4, 2019.

Phillip, a retiree, said Mottley has shown no interest in paying the money and she needed the money to meet various expenses.

In his previous decision, Seepersad ordered Mottley to repay $103,000, the $4,000 in costs incurred at the appeal, interest at the statutory rate as well as an additional $7,500 in costs for Monday’s application, by 4 pm on March 2. If she fails to pay it by then, Mottley will be arrested and jailed for 60 days.

The judge said it was unacceptable that Phillip had to wait four years and was still left without the benefit of receiving her judgment award.

Seepersad said Mottley was not a layman and would have known of the consequences of her failure to pay the judgement debt, especially since she was served with the proceedings.

She was not in court when the decision was given, although attempts had been made to contact her by phone.

Seepersad said the court had a duty to uphold the reputation of civil justice and the rule of law, adding that lawyers play a fundamental role in defending the rights of citizens.