Business ordered to hand over excavator to State

A LOCAL business which was ordered to receive compensation for the unlawful detention of its excavator, will now have to pay the State’s legal costs plus hand over the excavator, whatever condition it is in, to the authorities.

In July 2018, Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams ordered the State to pay Caribbean Welding Supplies (CWS) $1,328,320, representing the value or sale price of the excavator. She also ordered that CWS be paid $150,000 in aggravated damages as well as its legal costs.

Despite its win in the lower court, CWS appealed the judge’s decision in which she also found that it was not entitled to an award of damages for the loss of use of the excavator.

In its decision, Court of Appeal judges, Justices Nolan Bereaux, Mark Mohammed and Charmaine Pemberton held the judge was correct in her assessment that CWS was not entitled to compensation for loss of use since the company did not provide evidence to support its claim on prospective rentals.

On the issue of loss of use, Quinlan-Williams said, “To make an award for loss of use, in the circumstance of this case, would not amount to a compensatory award of damages but would cause the claimant to benefit from a windfall which he would not have received had the vehicle not been seized and detained by the police.”

On the return of the excavator, which at the trial, was said to have “no or nominal value,” the appeal court held that the judge was wrong to order the State return the excavator whatever its condition.

In their ruling, the judges found that CWS could not recover both the value of the excavator and possession of it as it would result in double recovery.

In dismissing CWS’s appeal, the court set aside Quinlan-Williams’ judgment and ordered that the company return the excavator to the State, whatever condition it was in.

In the matter before Quinlan-Williams, she had to determine the measure of compensation CWS, of San Fernando, was entitled to having had judgement entered in its favour in February 2018 for the unlawful detention of the excavator. The company purchased the excavator in December 2014 for US$124,527. CWS rented excavators for $3,000 and $4,000 a day.

At the time of the unlawful detention of the excavator, CWS was renting it out. CWS, in October 2015, entered into an agreement to sell the excavator, which was delivered to a site at Turure Road, Sangre Grande, when it was seized by police on October 21, 2015, one day after it was delivered.

In her decision, Quinlan-Williams said two weeks was a reasonable period for the police to conduct and complete their investigations, which resulted in them having to seize the excavator during an investigation for illegal quarrying.

The State was represented by Stephan Jaikaran and Savitri Maharaj while Gerald Ramdeen, Umesh Maharaj and Dayadai Harripaul represented CWS.