Opposition senator Fitzgerald Hinds has been sued

Opposition senator Fitzgerald Hinds has been sued by his next-door neighbour for trespass.

Opposition senator Fitzgerald Hinds has been sued by his next-door neighbour for trespass.

Marlon McPherson, who also lives in St James, yesterday filed a civil claim in the Port-of-Spain High Court, asking for damages for trespass and seeking an injunction to order Hinds to restore his land to its original condition. The writ was filed by attorneys Derek Ali and Michael Rooplal. In his claim form, McPherson said he was the owner of land at 12 Barry Avenue, Hillsboro, Maraval. He said Hinds, former Member of Parliament for Laventille East/Morvant, is the owner of lands at 11 Barry Avenue, Hillsboro, Maraval. McPherson accused Hinds of constructing a “very impressive four-storey house, together with a swimming pool, upon lands which the claimant estimates to be in the value of at least $7,000,000.” McPherson said both his land and the property belonging to Hinds were residential properties located in an exclusive Port-of-Spain suburb where the average home sells for $4 million.

The claimant said that in 2008, Hinds entered onto his lands without a licence or his consent and constructed a retaining wall. According to McPherson, the act of the former junior national security minister amounted to a trespass. He said he had suffered loss and damage by the trespass. McPherson claimed that he lost 1,450 square feet of land. Added to his problems, McPherson said the Town and Country Planning Division had refused planning permission to him to develop the land. He said as a result of the refusal of the Town and Country Planning Division and Hinds’ encroachment, he was unable to build on the land. McPherson said he was unable to sell the land. He said land was selling in that neighbourhood for $200 a square foot, and that the act of the senator had essentially rendered his land useless.

McPherson said his attorneys wrote to Hinds five times notifying him of his intention to institute legal proceedings and to seek compensation. Letters were written on October 16, 2008; January 30, 2009; October 12, 2009; January 18, 2010; and February 24, 2010. He said Hinds has failed to pay him compensation. In the October 16, 2008 letter, attorney Derek Ali called on Hinds to immediately and forthwith, pull down and demolish the retaining wall and to restore McPherson’s land to the original condition. Ali said the encroachment constituted a trespass which was illegal and/or unlawful.
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http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/politics/2010/07/14/pnm-senator-sued-trespass-lead-pg-3#sthash.klFQiaJS.dpuf
http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/politics/2010/07/14/pnm-senator-sued-trespass-lead-pg-3