-The leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Allen Chastanet, Wednesday said he intends to file an appeal against a High Court ruling that he defamed the former minister of housing, Richard Frederick, regarding the sale of government owned lands in St. Lucia.
The High Court ordered Chastanet to pay EC$60,000 in damages, costs and imposed a perpetual injunction that he never to repeat the allegations.
Allen Chastanet
But in a statement, Chastanet said that he acknowledges and ‘respect the decision delivered today by the Court in the defamation claim brought by Richard Frederick against me.
‘At this time, we are still awaiting the full written judgment and have thus far only received the Judge’s oral summary of the decision. However, based on the summary provided, we are of the firm view that there are very strong and compelling grounds of appeal. Once the full judgment is reviewed, we will proceed to take the necessary steps to appeal the decision.
‘We remain confident in our position and in the appellate process, and we will continue to address this matter with the utmost diligence and respect for the Court,’ Chastanet wrote.
Frederick in a post on Facebook said ‘when it rains it pours’ and welcomed the court ruling, adding that the ‘Speaker Claudius Francis had it ON POINT in the House, when his ruling falls squarely within learned judge’s findings’.
Francis had ruled against Chastanet’s claim that the sale of the 2.48 acres of the land amounted to corruption, saying that while the sale of the seafront Bananes land may have been below the valuation price, it could have been bad business and not necessarily corruption.
But after the ruling Chastanet left the parliament building and later repeated the allegation on a radio programme, resulting in the law suit by Frederick.