GUYANA | Appeal Court dismiss VP Jagdeo's request for appeal in Ferguson defamation case

GEORGETOWN,Guyana, September 5, 2023 - The Court of Appeal has thrown out a request for special leave by Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, to challenge the Full Court’s decision which upheld a High Court ruling that Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson be awarded a default judgment. 

It has been more than two years since the High Court ordered Mr. Jagdeo to pay Ms. Ferguson damages for libel that he caused against her.

But Mr. Jagdeo filed a series of Court applications to challenge the ruling by Justice Sandra Kurtzious.

MP Ferguson filed the lawsuit against Jagdeo and the Guyana Times while he was Opposition Leader and she was a Government Minister.

Jagdeo’s application to the Court of Appeal followed a decision by Chief Justice Roxane George and Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry who in the Full Court were unable to reach a unanimous decision on the case resulting in the original judgment against Mr. Jagdeo being upheld.

Among other things, Jagdeo through his attorney, Devindra Kissoon, was seeking to appeal the Court’s refusal to consider and grant an application to have the matter remitted to fresh judges in the Full Court.

Kissoon contended that that the Chief Justice and Justice Sewnarine-Beharry erred in law by failing to issue directions, recall their divided judgment, and reassign the matter to a bench of the Full Court consisting of an odd number of judges, in light of the dissenting nature of the judgment which has resulted in an automatic reversion to Justice Kurtzious’s decision.

The lawsuit stemmed from statements Jagdeo made in the media about Ms Ferguson’s acquisition of land and construction of her house.

Her Attorneys had maintained that the statements were reckless, libelous and were designed to damage her character.

The case was filed in January 2020 and referenced statements that were made by Jagdeo in December 2019.

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