Chas E. Ramson Ltd et Al v Harbour Cold Stores Ltd

• Jurisdiction: Jamaica
• Court: Court of Appeal (Jamaica)
• Judge: Carberry, J.A.
• Judgment Date: 27 April 1982
• Neutral Citation: JM 1982 CA 19
• Docket Number: Civil Appeal No. 57 of 1978
• Date: 27 April 1982

Court of Appeal

Carberry, J.A., Rowe, J.A, Wright, J.A (Ag.)

Civil Appeal No. 57 of 1978

Chas E. Ramson Ltd et al

and

Harbour Cold Stores Ltd.

Appearances:

Mr. D.M. Muirhead, Q.C.for the plaintiffs/applicants.

Mr. D.A. Scharschmidt for the defendant/respondent.

Practice and procedure - Appeals — Appeal to the Privy Council — Extension of time — The Jamaica (Procedure in Appeals to Privy Council) Order in Council 1962, s. 3,4(a)

Facts: Judgment was delivered in a case on January 22, 1982. An applicant filed a notice of motion for leave to appeal on February 19, 1982. Objection was raised by the respondent on the ground that the application was made out of time. A further application was then made for leave to appeal out of time, or to extend the time within which the application could be made

Held: Application refused. The Court of Appeal had no power to extend the time fixed by ss. 3 and 4(a).

Carberry, J.A.

1 This was an application for leave to appeal to Her Majesty in Council against the decision of this court in Harbour Cold Stores limited v. Chas E. Ramson Ltd. & Others. A preliminary objection was taken that the application for leave was made out of time, and this was countered by application for leave to appeal out of time, or for an extension of time within which to appeal. These applications by the applicants and the objection of the respondent were heard on the 5th March 1982. We unanimously sustained the preliminary objection and refused the applications. We promised to put our reasons in writing and do so now.

2 Harbour Cold Stores Limited vs. Chas E. Ramson Limited et al. was a long and difficult appeal on an importantpoint of law: namely the effect of clauses in a contract, which excluded liability (save for negligence) and a clause that limited the amount of damages recoverable in claims against the operators of a cold storage plant by clients whose meat they had undertaken to preserve. The plaintiffs, the present applicants, obtained a judgment in their favour in the sums of $107,461 and $24,218 respectively. On appeal this court held that the [1] limitation of damages clause applied with the result that the awards were considerably reduced, viz. to sums of $26,911 and $2,000 respectively. The judgment was delivered on the 22nd January 1982.

3 On the 19th February 1982, the plaintiffs/applicants filed the present notice of motion for leave to appeal to Her Majesty in Council. It is not disputed that prima facie there would have been an appeal as of right in this case, within the provisions of section 110 of the Constitution of Jamaica. The application was to be heard on the 1st March 1982. On that date the defendant/ respondent filed notice of a preliminary objection to the granting of leave, on the ground the application for leave was made out of time.

4 When the matter came before us on the 1st March, the parties consented to its being heard on the 5th March. The applicants on the 4th March gave notice of a further application, that being an application for leave to appeal out of time, or to extend the time within which their application could be made.

5 The Rules which regulate appeals from Jamaica to the Judicial Committee were made by Her Majesty on the 30th day of July, 1962 by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, and are contained in an Order in Council: “ The Jamaica (Procedure in Appeals to Privy Council) Order in Council 1962.”

6 Section 3 of the Order in Council provides:

“3. Applications to the court for leave to appeal shall be made by motion or petition within twenty-one days of the date of the judgment appealed from, and the applicant shall give all other parties concerned notice of his intended application.”

7 Even where...