State to pay owner $340,000 after police keep maxi for 2 years

A Sangre Grande maxi taxi owner will receive a little under $340,000 in compensation for his red band maxi taxi which was seized by police for 28 months in 2016.

Kelvin Pierre sued the State after his maxi taxi was stopped on the priority bus route (PBR) on May 4, 2016.

Pierre was not driving the maxi at that time but a driver he hired to work it. He said, although he assisted the police so that he could get back his maxi taxi, it was still kept for 28 months.

He said he never committed any offence nor was his maxi taxi used during the commission of one. Pierre also said he was never charged for any offence relating to the use of the maxi.

“I was very distressed and concerned about the fact that my maxi was detained for their period of time because with each day that the maxi was detained I was losing my ability to earn an income,’ he said in his lawsuit.

He said his daily profit while it was in use was $350 and when it was seized it was worth $100,000. By the time it was returned to him, his maxi taxi was valued at $45,000.

On Thursday, Master Sherlanne Pierre ordered the State to compensate Pierre for the wrongful detention of his maxi taxi. He will receive a total of $338, 550 in damages for the loss of use of the maxi taxi during the time it was being held, and for the depreciation in the vehicle’s value during that time.

In her assessment, Pierre held that the actions of the State were oppressive and arbitrary.

Pierre was represented by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen and Dayadai Harripaul.