Former Speaker Julian Willock will have to pay just over $106,000 out of his pockets for the legal fees incurred during his discontinued injunction case which was filed against the Commissioner of Inquiry and his three attorneys.
This after the Special Select Committee which was established under the former Premier Andrew Fahie concluded that the former Speaker’s action was not deemed warranted and was without merit.
The Committee stated, “Based on the evidence as provided and the judgment of the learned judge, it is concluded that the Speaker should not have brought the proceedings against the lawyers for the COI and he did not have expressed permission to do so on behalf of the House of Assembly.”
It added, “As a result, we have accepted the latter half of Section (c) of the Resolution which states, “this action is not deemed warranted and it is without merit and as a result, there should be no consideration of the matter by the House of Assembly.”
The Committee consisted of Chairman Honourable Vincent Wheatley, Fourth District Representative Mark Vanterpool, and Opposition Leader Julian Fraser.
Court order
A court document from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court dated May 4, 2022, saw Justice Adrian Jack once again ordering Willock to pay defendants Sir Gary Hickinbottom, Bilal Rawat, Rhea Harrikssoon, Andrew King, and Attorney General Dawn Smith by June 1.
It said that he will have until 4 pm on June 1 to pay the four defendants the costs which were ordered on November 11, 2021, in the amount of $98,676.51.
It added that he will also have that same period to pay the costs of and occasioned by the assessment process for the amount of $7,500.
More to come as this story unfolds.