The case in which former judge Dr Sonia Richards is suing the Government has been adjourned until July.
In the interim, the court has ordered that Queen’s Counsel Roger Forde, who is appearing for the defendants, refile his application to strike out and include a missing Statement of Truth.
Meantime, Richards, who is represented by attorney Lalu Hanuman, is at liberty to apply for leave to amend her claim.
The matter came up before Justice Shona Griffith via Zoom yesterday, and following a short hearing, was adjourned until July 8.
The Office of the Attorney General and former Chief Justice Sir Patterson Cheltenham are being sued by Richards for defamation over statements made to the Press by the retired chief justice published in 2022 and beyond.
Richards claims the statements demeaned her in the eyes of her peers, other employees, lawyers, and or thinking members of the public; and that the words were done with malice.
She is also claiming that the defendants breached the implied terms of her employment contract that she would not be abused, discriminated against, wrongfully refused access to her workplace, and made to work under conditions that made her ill.
The suit arose out of claims by Richards that on April 6, 2022, the then chief justice demanded the return of her swipe card and office keys, which she refused. She also alleged that on April 12, when she arrived at the White Park Road Supreme Court Complex, she was unable to enter the building with her key or access her office with her swipe card. ( AC)
