CCJ to rule on British American policyholders discrimination claim against Trinidad and Tobago

THE Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is on October 22 expected to deliver its ruling on a claim by a group of regional policyholders that the Trinidad and Tobago government’s bailout of local subsidiaries of the CL Financial (CLF) conglomerate was discriminatory.

The CCJ’s decision will be delivered on October 22 at 1 pm.

The group of British American Insurance Company (BAICO) policyholders from several Eastern Caribbean countries claimed the move by the TT government to bail out only local financial subsidiaries of CLF was discriminatory.

The court – comprising CCJ president Adrian Saunders and judges Winston Anderson, Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Andrew Burgess, and Peter Jamadar – reserved its judgment in May.

In the lawsuit, the group contended the government breached the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), which established the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), by bailing out certain local CLF subsidiaries such as Clico and British American (Trinidad) and not regional subsidiaries such as BAICO.

The group comprising policyholders Ellis Richards, Spencer Thomas and Medical Benefits Board, took action against the TT government in the regional court.

They are nationals of institutions established in Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada and were all policyholders of BAICO which was incorporated in the Bahamas.

The group contended while TT policyholders were protected, the Eastern Caribbean policyholders were only able to recover some 14 per cent of their investments in liquidation.

At the centre of the group’s arguments were their contentions that TT contravened the RTC which governs Caricom. Their King’s Counsel Simon Davenport argued that BAICO’s assets were used in the bailout, but the TT government did not accept its liabilities, including to policyholders.

Davenport claimed that the TT government also breached the article of the RTC, which requires member states to promote the interests of consumers by providing adequate and effective redress.

In response, Senior Counsel Deborah Peake, for TT, argued there was no evidence that BAICO’s assets were used in the bailout.

She said when the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CL Financial for the bailout in 2009, only three local subsidiaries Clico, BAT and Clico Investment Bank (CIB) were under consideration and not CLF’s 39 other local, regional and international subsidiaries such as BAICO.

She also suggested that the group’s case was based on a misunderstanding of the RTC.

In March 2023, the CCJ delivered a preliminary ruling in the case dismissing the majority of the BAICO policyholders’ claims but allowed the group to pursue its claim on an alleged breach of Article 184 of the RTC on the failure to promote the interests of consumers in the community  and Article 7.

The group was also represented by former St Lucia prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony, Robert Strang, Gregory Pantin, Matthew Happold, George Kirnon and Miguel Vasquez.

Tamara Toolsie, Brent James, Murvani Ojah Maharaj appeared with Peake for TT.