Barbados radio station granted leave to appeal by CCJ
by Dawne Bennett
Caribbean Net News Barbados Correspondent
Monday, November 7, 2005
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: The Caribbean Court of
Justice (CCJ) has granted a Barbados radio station leave to appeal a High
Court ruling and therefore defend itself against a libel lawsuit filed by the
owners of a farm in 1990. In its first-ever
written judgment, the CCJ ruled that the decision by the Barbados High Court
to strike out the defence of Barbados Rediffusion Services Ltd., now operating
as Starcom Network, could result in a miscarriage of justice.
"We are certainly not in a position to hold,
and do not hold, that the sanction imposed was wrongly imposed. We have
however, come to the conclusion that in the circumstances of this case the
possibility that it may have been wrongly or unfairly imposed is significant
enough to warrant the issue being fully and finally ventilated before this
Court," the CCJ judgment said.
The court, presided over by Chief Justice,
Michael de la Bastide, Rolston Nelson, Adrian Saundes, Désireé Bernard and
Prof David Hayton, will hear the substantive appeal on November 7.
The radio station took its case to the CCJ after the High Court here stuck out
the company's defence on the basis that it had consistently failed to comply
with orders to hand over recordings requested by the owners of McDonald
chicken farm, Ram and Asha Mirchandani. The
couple claimed the station's live broadcast of semi-finals and finals of the
1989 Pic-O-De-crop Calypso competition, of three songs - the 'Madd Chicken
Song', 'Pluck It' and 'Tit for Tat' - which alleged their farm processed
chicken in unsanitary conditions and allowed diseased chickens to be
distributed, destroyed their business. They are seeking BDS$2.8 million is
compensation.
Back...
Most popular
articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed
Printable
version
| 
