By KEILE CAMPBELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit a man filed over the damage his public service bus suffered when gasoline was mistakenly pumped into his diesel-operated vehicle at a Grand Bahama gas station in June 2015.
The court ruled that Rusty Jerome Newman had already resolved the issue when he received a $350 payment in July 2015 from the gas station. The court also rejected an attempt by his widow, Ruthmae Roberts, to continue the case after Newman’s death in 2024.
Newman, the deceased plaintiff, owned and operated a public service bus. In early June 2015, he took his 1999 Asia 25-seater bus, which ran on diesel, to a gas station on Mall Drive, near the airport in Freeport. The defendants in the case were Grand Sun Investments Limited, Freeport Oil Company Limited (FOCOL), and FOCOL Holdings Limited.
Newman requested diesel for the bus. After believing the tank had been filled correctly, he drove off. However, as he drove away, the bus began to jerk. Realising something had gone wrong, he returned to the gas station, where he determined that the station employee had pumped gasoline into the bus’s diesel tank.
Newman then lodged a complaint with the station manager, Roderick Smith, who accepted responsibility. The plaintiff’s claim said the defendant provided Mr Newman with a $300 cheque to repair the bus’s engine.
After repairs, the bus ran for just two hours before breaking down again. Newman had to leave the bus on the road until it could be towed to a secure location. It remained out of service because he lacked the funds for further repairs. Despite his demands, he claimed the defendant had failed to repair or replace the vehicle.
The bus had been out of service since June 2015, causing significant financial loss to Mr Newman.
Newman sought damages, including compensation for a replacement bus, ideally a 2012 model or later, to comply with government regulations.
According to The Bahamas Customs and Excise Department, vehicles over ten years cannot be used for public service without special approval. Since the 1999 Asia bus was over ten years old, it would not meet the government’s public service vehicle requirements unless replaced with a newer model.
Newman also sought compensation for loss of earnings at $250 per day from June 2015 to the present, along with interest on damages and any other relief the court deemed appropriate.
The defendants denied wrongdoing, arguing that no evidence supported the claim that gasoline was mistakenly pumped into the bus. They suggested the damage was caused by poor repairs, not the fuel mix-up, and noted the bus ran for two hours after the repairs.
On December 6, Justice Andrew Forbes ruled that the case should be dismissed. The court found there was no cause of action, as the matter had already been settled through the $350 ex-gratia payment in 2015. The court concluded that allowing the case to proceed would be an abuse of process since the issue had already been resolved and accepted by Newman.
Following Newman’s death, his widow, Ruthmae Roberts, sought to continue the lawsuit. However, the court rejected this application, ruling that the case had no merit. The claim was dismissed because the dispute had already been settled with the $350 payment, and there was no legal basis to allow the case to continue.
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