The embattled Member of Parliament for Holy Cross Sidney Stubbs and his legal team have secured a court date to go back to the very judge who declared him bankrupt to try to have her reverse the order she made against him nearly five months ago.
The unresolved bankruptcy issue is preventing Mr. Stubbs from participating in sittings of the House of Assembly.
Many people have been waiting to see what the parliamentarianﾴs next move will be ever since the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal in June on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction to hear that appeal.
Mr. Stubbs and his attorneys, who include the Member of Parliament for Mount Moriah Keod Smith, have been assigned an early September court date to request Justice Jeannie Thompson to reverse her ruling declaring him a bankrupt individual, on several grounds.
Mr. Stubbs and his counsel are denying that a court officer actually served him with the Debtorﾴs Pleadings and are questioning a statutory limit for the enforcement of the almost $100,000 judgment that had been made against him.
The Debtorﾴs Pleadings refer to the documents that outline the debt he owes.
Mr. Stubbsﾴ legal woes began on November 28, 1996 when a Supreme Court action was filed requiring him to pay a $55,000 debt with interest at a rate of eight percent per annum.
Mr. Smith has advised his client that according to the provision of the Limitation Act, there is a six-year statutory limit within which a judgment must be enforced.
No court directives extending that time were reportedly uncovered.
On February 16, 2004, Gina Gonzalez, the judgment creditor, filed a petition that he be declared a bankrupt for failing to satisfy the 1996 judgment.
In a sworn affidavit that the attorneys filed with the Supreme Court this week, Mr. Stubbs alleged that there was a failed attempt to have him served with legal papers which would have informed him of an upcoming legal hearing against him.
The incident reportedly occurred on March 17, 2004 while he was addressing an audience of parliamentary committee members at the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Hall on Farrington Road.
He charged that a member of the audience approached him, but the Chief Clerk of the House of Assembly intercepted the individual and prevented him from reaching the parliamentarian.
ﾓHe was prohibited from serving any court papers on me at that time,ﾒ the affidavit said. ﾓThe individual indicated that he did not care and he eventually threw the papers on the floor from where they were retrieved by the Deputy Clerk of the House who told me that I was not served and that he will keep the papers to pass on to the Speaker of the House.ﾒ
On March 23, the Chairman of that committee wrote to the Speaker confirming the view that Mr. Stubbs had not been served, according to the legal document, which also claimed that he was advised by his counsel to await the Speakerﾴs response on the issue.
What Mr. Stubbs is taking exception with is that when Justice Thompson eventually heard the petition on March 30, 2004, neither he nor his attorney was present. He claimed that only the attorneys for the plaintiff were present.
It was also the date that he was declared bankrupt.
Mr. Stubbs reasoned that although the granting of that bankruptcy order was widely publicized and circulated in the media, it was never officially gazetted.
He is also disputing that he was served with the Debtorﾴs Pleadings on December 24, 2003, claiming that he was in Treasure Cay, Abaco on that date.
Bruno Roberts is a co-defendant in the matter, but he is not a party to the bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr. Stubbs has made mention of the fact that the Writ Action was marked settled on June 29, 2004 because Mr. Roberts paid the judgment, in addition to cost.
But according to the affidavit, Mr. Stubbs explained that Mr. Roberts had only paid a partial judgment of around $33,000 in interest and $35,000 in legal costs under the Default Judgment since Mr. Stubbs had been declared bankrupt.
Those payments were reportedly paid by cheque to the law firm of Lockhart and Munroe.
ﾓThe said Mr. Bruno Roberts further informs me that he now knows that he was mistaken in believing that if he had actually paid the said amounts in full settlement of the matter, I would have been automatically discharged from the Order of bankruptcy as against me,ﾒ the affidavit said.
In the affidavit, Mr. Stubbs said at the time of the 1996 action pursued by Ms. Gonzalez, he ﾓnever admitted to owing the said funds, nor at any time agreeing to repay the same.ﾒ
In the weeks following the bankruptcy declaration at the end of March, the Progressive Liberal Party was said to be moving into bye-election mode, fearing the worst.
The inner-sanctum of the party was reportedly already discussing who the PLP would run to secure the Holy Cross seat now held by Mr. Stubbs, the former executive chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation, who has been no stranger to controversy.
There have also been calls from the opposition for Mr. Stubbs to resign his seat.
The Bahama Journal
