THE CIVIL case against 52-year-old Geoffrey Maxwell, former coach of the Waterhouse football team, who is being sued for the $22 million defrauded from his former employer, H.D. Hopwood and Company, will not be heard in open court.
When the case came up for assessment of damages last Friday, Mr. Justice Lloyd Hibbert suggested to the lawyers representing Hopwood, that since a specific sum was being sought the matter could be disposed of before the Deputy Registrar in chambers.
Attorneys-at-law Michele Champagnie and Christopher Kelman of Myers Fletcher and Gordon who are representing Hopwood, told The Gleaner Friday that they would be filing the relevant documents this week.
Hopwood had sued Maxwell to recover the money. He did not file a defence and the company obtained a default judgment against him. The case was set for assessment of damages in the Supreme Court on December 7. Maxwell applied for an adjournment on the ground that he had just been released from prison the day before.
Maxwell was jailed in March this year for 12 months, after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the company of $22 million. Maxwell, who was the company's chief accountant, was given the money to purchase foreign exchange. He purchased the money but did not hand it over to the company.
