The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

COALITION of Independents leader Lincoln Bain yesterday repeated his determination to appeal a court ruling that ordered him to pay $64,000 to a woman after finding he did not invest or return the money she wanted him to hold in a trust for her for three years.

He spoke about the matter at a press conference at the COI’s headquarters - repeating his decision to appeal which he first told The Tribune last week.

Mr Bain said despite the ruling, he is receiving support from his party.

COI deputy leader and attorney Maria Daxon believes there were “a lot of inconsistencies” in the case that were not addressed.

“Looking at all of these inconsistencies — judge ruling and the evidence that Mr Bain presented — we would’ve advised Mr Bain to appeal this ruling. It is up to him whether he’s going to appeal or not,” she said.

In deciding the case, Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson found that a witness Mr Bain brought was not credible after the man testified that he had forged Mr Bain’s signature on the agreements solidifying the transaction between Mr Bain and the plaintiff.

The plaintiff in the Supreme Court matter, Zinnia Rolle, claimed two agreements were breached, one dated April 20, 2010 and another executed on April 23, 2010.

Mr Bain is the first defendant in the matter and Bani Shoe Warehouse is listed as the second defendant.

For his part at the press conference, the party leader highlighted a series of email correspondence and his arguments to support his position.

“We are looking to appeal and make a final decision once we talk to our attorneys. It is our plan to appeal this,” he added.

Asked what impact the court’s judgement had on him as leader, he replied: “I have met with the executives of the organisation. They have gone through the facts of this because I am very open and everyone in the organisation will tell you that I’m very open and transparent. I let them see everything and, on seeing this, it was even hard getting past the email. They decided that there’s something more to this.

“They decided that they will support me. As our deputy leader said a minute ago, they’re gonna stand with me on this and I’m gonna stand with this. If in the end the courts say I have to pay someone, I’m gonna pay them. That’s no problem. The court has the final say.”

At the end of the day, he said the issue boiled down to a “business dispute”.

“There is no leader in this country, political leader, who has not had some kind of lawsuit,” he said.