Oceanview Condominium: Another Win For Jacy Whittaker

The award winning commercial litigators at ParrisWhittaker have scored an important win for one of its clients. Jacy Whittaker successfully defended Oceanview Condominium Association (Oceanview), which operates an exclusive beach waterfront community in Grand Bahamas.

The Bahamas Supreme Court accepted Mr Whittaker’s arguments that a long-running claim by Siddarth Siddarth, who purported to be the legal owner of a condo at Oceanview, should be thrown out and a prior judgment overturned.

What’s the background?

Back in April 2012, Mr Siddarth issued a claim for the removal of the occupant/s of a unit at Oceanview Condominium, which he claimed he had contracted to sell.

It followed an event the previous month, when an attorney attempted to show prospective purchasers the unit on his behalf, and was unable to use the keys to open up. Instead, a female occupant opened the condo door and told the attorney she had given possession of it by Oceanview.

Mr Siddarth claimed the unit had been unlawfully broken into and entered. He also claimed damages for trespass and theft; and sought an injunction against Oceanview preventing it from entering or removing anything from the unit. He went on to obtain judgment in default.

However, Mr Whittaker challenged this move as Mr Siddarth had failed to comply with the court rules; and there had been a 5-year delay before he had sought judgment in default. He argued that the default judgment was therefore irregular and void.

Decision

The court agreed with Mr Whittaker. It found that given the chronology of events and delay, the judgment in default was irregular and should be set aside. For instance, the Rules of the Supreme Court required Mr Siddarth specifically to seek the court’s permission to enter judgment in default for a claim for possession of land (the unit). Mr Siddarth failed to do so.

Furthermore, there was an irregularity between his Statement of Claim – which had alleged trespass; and the final wording of judgment in default – which was, in fact, an order relating to ownership and possession of the unit.

As for whether Mr Siddarth even had a cause of action, the court found on the evidence that legal ownership actually belonged to an investment company by that point. Therefore, he had no legal standing to enforce a contract for sale to which he was not party. Also, the occupants were the legal owners as a result of their lawful purchase.   

Mr Siddarth’s statement of claim was struck out. Mr Whittaker also secured a costs order against Mr Siddarth.

How we can help you

Jacy Whittaker and the team at ParrisWhittaker are expert commercial litigation lawyers. For robust advice and representation, contact us at ParrisWhittaker here or telephone +1.242.352.6112

Siddarth v Oceanview 2012/CLE/gen/FP/0177