By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune News Editor
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A SUPREME Court judge has warned litigants that failing to obey court orders could cost them their right to defend themselves after a couple risked losing their defence in a long-running loan dispute with Alpha Aviation Limited over unpaid court costs.
Justice Leif Farquharson yesterday gave Randy and Larona Butler 45 days to pay $19,000 owed to the company for legal costs or face having their defence struck out.
The order stems from a case in which Alpha Aviation claims the Butlers still owe more than $170,000 on two loans issued nearly 20 years ago, one for $279,000 in 2005 and another for $120,000 in 2007. Both were to be repaid over 20 years at four percent interest and secured by a mortgage over Lot 5, Block 13, Winton Heights Estates.
According to court documents, the Butlers tried to sell the mortgaged property in 2008 while the loans remained unpaid. Years later, in 2017, a Deed of Release was executed by Alpha Aviation’s then manager and director, releasing the mortgage without the approval of the company’s beneficial owner. That act left the loans unsecured and triggered years of litigation.
In 2021, Alpha Aviation sued its former manager and the Butlers, alleging conspiracy to defraud. The court dismissed the conspiracy claim last year, finding instead that the manager had breached his fiduciary duties but that the company suffered no recoverable loss. Justice Indra Charles nonetheless said Alpha Aviation could pursue repayment of the outstanding loans as a separate debt claim.
That new action was filed in June 2024. The Butlers applied to strike it out, arguing it was an abuse of process because the matter should have been raised in the earlier case. Assistant Registrar Jonathan Deal rejected the application in January and ordered the couple to pay Alpha Aviation $19,000 in costs, later formally assessed in May.
To date, those costs remain unpaid.
Alpha Aviation asked the court to strike out the Butlers’ defence under Rule 71.15 of the Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules, which allows judges to debar parties from continuing litigation if they fail to comply with costs orders.
The company’s attorney, Marnique Knowles, argued that the Butlers ignored multiple payment requests and offered no evidence of financial hardship or attempt to comply.
The couple’s lawyer, Ashley Williams, countered that striking out the defence would be “disproportionate” and contrary to the right to a fair hearing, saying any delay arose from “logistical or financial constraints.”
Justice Farquharson ruled that the defendants were in clear breach of their obligation to pay, noting that more than five months had passed since the order was made and no justification had been offered.
While declining to strike out the defence immediately, the judge issued an “unless order”, giving the Butlers 45 days to pay or lose their right to contest the claim.
“The defendants could not expect to ignore the Court’s order and continue to litigate with impunity,” he wrote.
He also awarded Alpha Aviation its costs for the latest application, to be summarily assessed unless the parties agree.
Commenting has been disabled for this item.