The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a two-year court battle, the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association was awarded a victory against plaintiffs Bjorn Ferguson and Kenwood Kerr and can now conduct business as usual.

A ruling was handed down on Tuesday in the Supreme Court by Justice Denise Lewis-Johnson. While Ramona Farquharson-Seymour represented the BLTA, Ferguson and Kerr were represented by Khalil Parker KC.

In the ruling of the case, which started in January 2022, just after Perry Newton and his executive team were elected to office, the court ruled both Ferguson and Kerr were not members of the BLTA, and their case was dismissed.

“It feels good. You never want to go to court. Court is never a fun place, but to get it over with and to come out victorious is a good feeling,” Mr Newton said. “The only thing I can say is that God is good.”

Looking at the length of time for the decision to be made, Mr Newton said he didn’t anticipate the time frame to reach a resolution, but he’s glad that it’s finally over and done with.

“You just don’t know what the process is, so us as lay persons, that’s a long time,” Mr Newton admitted. “Things of this nature I guess take time.”

Despite the injunction taken out by Mr Ferguson and Mr Kerr, who opposed Mr Newton during the elections, the BLTA continued to function as usual over the past two years.

But Mr Newton admitted it was not an easy road.

“The hardest thing was for the people who were looking to retire in 2022 and they stuck it out,” Mr Newton said. “So I want to say to them for their dedication, and for all of the persons who continued to support the BLTA, the sponsors and players, thank you. It was a tedious time, but we never stopped working. So I have to say kudos to the board because we never stopped working, despite the pressure that was on us.”

As they move forward, Mr Newton said the BLTA is preparing to send several teams off to compete in various international competitions this month.

They include the Junior Billie Jean and Jr Davis Cup teams that will travel to the Dominican Republic from February 26 to March 9 and the World Junior Under-14 girls and boys teams that travel to El Salvador the week after.

The next big step for the BLTA, according to Mr Newton, is to stage an annual general meeting, which they were not able to do in a while because of the court dispute.

“We are just excited to have that part concluded,” said Mr Newton of the court case. “It’s a good joyous feeling to have it concluded.”

Neither Mr Kerr, who opposed Mr Newton during the elections, nor Mr Ferguson were available for comments. In the interim, while they waited for the decision of the court, they were hosting a number of local tournaments to keep some of the more seasoned players active away from the National Tennis Centre.

It is not known what their next step will be.