By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterTHE COURT of Appeal has struck out the appeal which Kingston attorney-at-law Humphrey McPherson had brought against a Supreme Court ruling dismissing his slander suit against Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe.
McPherson, who was representing himself, did not turn up in court.
The appeal was struck out after the court comprising Mr. Justice Paul Harrison, Mr Justice Algernon Smith and Mr. Justice Karl Harrison upheld legal arguments made by John Vassel, Q.C. who represented the Chief Justice. Mr. Vassel said the appeal should be struck out because McPherson did not take the necessary steps to pursue the appeal.
McPherson did not file the relevant grounds of appeal and the skeleton arguments. He did not settle the record of appeal and did not attend court.
The slander suit in which McPherson was seeking damages was heard in the Supreme Court in November 2002.
MISCONCEIVED
Mr. Justice Basil Reid in dismissing the suit in November 2002 had ruled that the action brought against the Chief Justice was misconceived.
McPherson had filed a notice of appeal asking the Court of Appeal to find that Mr. Justice Reid erred when he said there was no reasonable cause of action and the case was misconceived.
Mr. Justice Reid dismissed McPherson's case after he upheld a no case submission made by John Vassell, Q.C. on the ground that on the pleadings and from the evidence given there was no physical injury and therefore the suit in relation to assault should be struck out.
Mr. Vassell submitted further that the words which Mr. McPherson alleged that the Chief Justice said to him, namely that he was a "brave man writing feisty letters wanting to disqualify judges" were not defamatory.
McPherson had contended in the suit that the Chief Justice had made the comments on May 25, 2000 while he and his client, Stanley Mason were at the Supreme Court waiting for a case to be heard in chambers. He said other lawyers were also present. He said the Chief Justice pointed his finger at him and moved in a menacing manner towards him.
Attorneys-at-law Abe Dabdoub and Andre Earle had testified that the Chief Justice had said he was glad to see that McPherson had found a judge to do his case. They said after the Chief Justice spoke, it was McPherson who behaved in a menacing manner towards the Chief Justice.
