The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JUDGE has ruled that she will not hear any application to set aside an injunction barring work being done at Nygard Cay until the conclusion of committal proceedings concerning Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

Mr Nygard had filed a notice of motion in the Supreme Court last October seeking to have Justice Rhonda Bain lift a three-year-old injunction barring construction works on the basis that Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall over the capital, had pushed sand into the marina in Lyford Cay, making property unaccessable by boat

The motion had been supported by attorney Keod Smith in an affidavit filed on November 8, 2016 in which he explained the difference between dredging and disturbing loose sand resting on the seabed in a prior capacity as Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission chairman between 2002-2007.

However, the application, was contested by attorneys for Save The Bays (STB) who argued that Mr Nygard is a “serial contemnor” already facing multiple applications to commit him to prison for contempt of court and that he should not be allowed to make any application before the court until his contempt is purged.

Justice Bain, in a ruling dated January 12 and handed down yesterday, agreed.

“Leave was granted to commence judicial review proceedings on June 13, 2013 and to date this matter has not been heard because of numerous preliminary applications. As stated in ruling no.11 (Extension of time for Sixth Respondent to pay costs) there are 19 outstanding preliminary applications filed by the respondents. The hearing of the first committal application is advanced, having taken evidence from Grantley Ifil, Martin Lundy II, and Marcian Bethel for the applicant and Melissa Hall for the fifth respondent,” the judge stressed.

“The court holds that this is not an application where the court should exercise its discretion to hear the contemnor. The court is of the opinion that the hearing of the committal application should be completed before hearing the fifth respondent’s notice of motion to set aside the injunction. The court holds that the notice of motion filed October 27, 2016 shall await the completion of the first committal application against the fifth respondent,” the judge ruled.

Save The Bays’ battle with Mr Nygard over the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home stem from allegations that the activities have led to substantial growth of the size 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 on the grounds of bias. However, in January, Justice Bain said 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, in June 2016, affirmed Justice Bain’s rejection of the application in an appeal of the decision by the Lyford Cay resident.