Supreme Court
JUDGMENT
(orders)
1. This was a claim initially filed on 29 August 2018 against the Government. It was later amended to add the Office of the Maritime Regulator as a defendant. The claim alleges that the defendants were negligent in their duties leading to the loss of LC Urata at sea.
2. The matter was listed for trial on a couple of occasions but each time the trial was adjourned. The third adjournment was on 27 March 2020 adjourning the trial to 3rd and 4th June 2020. Late yesterday (2nd June) a memorandum was filed by the claimant seeking to challenge some of the defendant’s evidence before the trial commenced.
3. When the trial commenced there was no appearance from the claimant’s counsel and no reasons were provided to the Court for her non-appearance.
4. The claim is therefore struck out and the defendants are entitled to costs in the sum of VT 90, 000 to be paid within 21 days.
DATED at Port Vila this 3rd day of June, 2020
BY THE COURT
………………………
Dudley Aru
Judge