Beckford v Alcan Products of Jamaica Ltd

• Jurisdiction: Jamaica
• Court: Court of Appeal (Jamaica)
• Judge: Rowe, P.
• Judgment Date: 24 January 1989
• Neutral Citation: JM 1989 CA 19
• Docket Number: Civil Appeal No. 34 of 1988
• Date: 24 January 1989

Court of Appeal

Rowe, P.; Wright, J.A.; Forte, J.A.

Civil Appeal No. 34 of 1988

Beckford

and

Alcan Products of Jamaica Limited

Appearances:

Orrin K. Tonsingh for appellant.

Robert Baugh for respondent.

Practice and procedure - Costs — Assessment of damages — Order as to costs — Order that costs to be costs in the cause — Whether order wrong in principle — Plaintiff not to be faulted — Order set aside.

Rowe, P.

1 Gordon, J., at the hearing of the assessment for damages on the 25th of May, 1988, ordered that the hearing be adjourned sine die and that the costs of the day be costs in the cause.

2 Default judgment which had been entered against the defendant/respondent was set aside on the day before the date set for the assessment of damages. The judgment for default was a regular judgment and was set aside because the defendant/appellant had shown to the satisfaction of the Master that there were triable issues and at the time when the default judgment was set aside, it was ordered that the costs of the plaintiff should be paid by the defendant/respondent. Consequently, the appellant is saying that the order made by the learned trial judge as to costs was wrong in principle, for two reasons. Firstly, it was possible that this defendant/ respondent, if he succeeded completely, at the hearing of the case, could receive...