The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN attorney was probed at-length yesterday concerning her legal representation of Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard and correspondence or other documents relating to him that were prepared before December 2014 when alleged dredging activities were occurring on or around Nygard Cay.

Melissa Hall returned before Justice Rhonda Bain to continue her testimony that began in December 2016 as part of committal proceedings for Mr Nygard concerning his alleged breach of an order during an ongoing judicial review to determine whether the fashion designer had illegally increased the size of his property.

The Lyford Cay resident was not present in the Ansbacher House courtroom during her testimony as he had been excused from the proceedings earlier in the day after his lawyer Elliot Lockhart, QC, successfully applied to Justice Bain for him to be excused from the scheduled proceedings until March 2.

Fred Smith, QC, and lead lawyer for Save The Bays, questioned Ms Hall about the contents of her affidavit - sworn on March 20, 2015 - concerning a meeting with Director of Physical Planning Michael Major in relation to an excavation permit she had sought on Mr Nygard’s behalf.

A copy of the permit was shown to her with the court’s permission.

“Do you agree this is the application you made on behalf of Mr Nygard for dredging in the marina?” Mr Smith asked.

“Yes,” the attorney said.

She was asked if the permit, which was addressed to her firm and Nygard Holdings Ltd, was granted to her.

The witness said she had “applied for Mr Nygard on the instructions of Eric Gibson.”

“Who is Zarina Fitzgerald?” Mr Smith asked.

“I think she’s the wife of Mr (Jerome) Fitzgerald and she’s with Higgs & Johnson,” the witness said.

Mr Smith asked the lawyer if she was familiar with Nygard Holdings Ltd. Ms Hall said she was not.

She was then asked if she was aware that Zarina Fitzgerald was a shareholder of the aforementioned company. She again, said no.

“You know who does the corporate work for Nygard Holdings?” Mr Smith asked.

“No I don’t,” the witness answered.

“You were aware that an injunction had been issued enjoining Mr Nygard from carrying out any works?” Mr Smith asked.

“I was not aware at the time,” Ms Hall said.

“When did you meet with Mr Major?” Mr Smith asked.

“Between the period September 30 - October 2, 2014,” the witness said.

She was asked if her client, Mr Gibson or Thomas Evans, QC, had informed her about the injunction. She said neither of them did.

“Mr Major told me there was a court order and that he would seek legal advise from the Attorney General’s Office. I got a call that the permit was ready a few days later,” Ms Hall said.

Mr Smith asked the lawyer if she had a conversation with Mr Gibson concerning the injunction.

“I was advised that the court order was not relative to what we were working on,” Ms Hall said, adding that this discussion centred on the marina.

“You’d made an application to dredge the marina before?” Mr Smith asked.

“This was the second time,” Ms Hall answered.

“Mr Gibson was Nygard Holding’s project manager?” Mr Smith asked.

“I’m not certain of his professional title there. I’d refer to him as an agent of Mr Nygard. That’s who he instructed me to communicate with,” Ms Hall said.

Mr Smith asked the attorney if the permit granted her client permission to dredge more than 134,000 square feet of seabed adjacent to the boat basin of Nygard Cay. The witness said yes.

Mr Smith asked if there were 11 conditions attached to the permit. She said yes.

“Did you in any way seek to ensure any of the conditions were observed?”

She said she did not as she had passed the permit on to Mr Gibson with the expectation that he would ensure they were observed.

The Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay, now called Save the Bays, has waged a long running court battle with Mr Nygard over the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home, which stem from allegations that the activities have led to substantial growth of the property.

The group claims that the Lyford Cay resident has almost doubled the size of his property, from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres, since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown land from the sea. The advocacy group has alleged that Mr Nygard achieved this without the necessary permits and approvals, claims that have been denied by the fashion designer.

In 2015, Justice Bain was asked to recuse herself from committal proceedings involving Mr Nygard through a notice of motion filed in the Supreme Court by his former lawyer, Keod Smith, on the grounds of bias. However Justice Bain later ruled that Mr Nygard had not proved there was evidence of bias or apparent bias towards him and found the accusations to be “scandalous”.

The Court of Appeal has affirmed Justice Bain’s rejection of the application in an appeal of the decision by the Lyford Cay resident.