Wed, Jul 15, 2026
Wed, Jul 15, 2026
Guyanese woman finally awarded US$300,000 after years of legal battle
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed an appeal it described as an “abuse of process” and awarded US$300,000 to Ann Narine—an amount owed to her since 2020.
The ruling was handed down on Tuesday following a hearing before Justices Winston Anderson, Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Denys Barrow, Peter Jamadar, and Chantal Ononaiwu.
The sum was owed to Ann Narine by Hardat Singh, stemming from a dispute arising out of a business arrangement. In an effort to resolve the issue, a Fixed Date Application was filed in the High Court of Georgetown in 2020. The claim stated that Singh had promised to pay Narine the amount, a promise made in writing via a document alleged to be a promissory note.
Approximately a year later, Singh failed to appear in court and did not file a defence.
“A major issue that arose in the matter was that Mr Singh, who was duly served out of the jurisdiction, failed to appear at trial or file a defence,” the CCJ noted in a press statement.
As a result, the court awarded a money judgment in Narine’s favour.
“Without applying to set aside the judgment in accordance with Rule 39.07 of the Civil Procedure Rules, Mr Singh appealed to the Full Court and the Court of Appeal in Guyana, both of which upheld the lower court’s judgment,” the CCJ added.
Singh subsequently challenged this decision before the CCJ.
“At the CCJ, the Court commented that, in failing to apply to set aside the judgment, Mr Singh attempted to sidestep the requirement of providing a valid reason for his nonappearance at trial and sought to avoid judgment altogether.
The Court identified this as an abuse of process and was unconvinced that Mr Singh had been forthright in his conduct of the matter. The Court dismissed the appeal and awarded the relevant costs to be paid by Mr Singh to Ms Narine,” the CCJ concluded.