Life of Jamaica Ltd v Glenford Plummer

• Jurisdiction: Jamaica
• Judge: BINGHAM. J A.:
• Judgment Date: 24 May 2000
• Neutral Citation: JM 2000 CA 27
• Judgment citation (vLex): [2000] 5 JJC 2402
• Court: Court of Appeal (Jamaica)
• Date: 24 May 2000

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

BEFORE:

THE HON. MR. JUSTICE FORTE, P THE HON. MR. JUSTICE BINGHAM, J.A THE HON. MR. JUSTICE WALKER, J.A

BETWEEN

LIFE OF JAMAICA LIMITED

APPELLANT

AND

GLENFORD PLUMMER

RESPONDENT

Michael Hylton, Q.C. and Hilary Reid, instructed by Myers, Fletcher & Gordon, for the appellant

Raphael Codlin for the respondent

CIVIL PROCEDURE - Letters of administration - Claim for release of monies from proceeds of estate - Whether letters of administration had been granted

BINGHAM. J A.:

1 This appeal is against an order of Ellis, J., made on August 11, 1999, as here set out:

• (1) That Life of Jamaica Ltd. pay over to Raphael Codlin & Co. for stamping the Letters of Administration, the sum of $17,030.00 from the proceeds of policy No. 4001 1672, which said proceeds are being held by Life of Jamaica Ltd. on behalf of the estate of ROY CLINTON PLUMMER.

• (2) That within ten (10) days after the presentation of the stamped Letters of Administration to Life of Jamaica Ltd. that the said sum be paid over to the Attorneys at law for the Administrator herein, Glenford Plummer, in accordance with authority dated November 2, 1998.

• (3) That the costs of this application be paid by the said Life of Jamaica Ltd.

• (4) Liberty to apply."

2 Before the submissions by learned counsel for the respondent were completed, the matter was resolved by counsel withdrawing his opposition to the arguments advanced in favour of the appellant.

3 The record was accordingly endorsed: "Appeal allowed. Judgment of the court below set aside. Costs to the appellant in a sum to be endorsed on counsel's brief."

4 The judgment which now follows is intended not only to set out the reasons for the order made as to the disposition of the appeal, but is by way of an attempt to provide some future guidance to the profession and other bodies faced with similar problems to that raised in this matter.

5 The Facts

6 The facts and circumstances leading up to the order made by Ellis, J., and the subsequent appeal are as follows.

7 Before his death on December 22, 1994, the deceased Roy Clinton Plummer who died intestate took out a life insurance policy No. 4001 1672 with the appellant company for the benefit of his estate. His son Glenford Plummer, the respondent in this matter, applied for a grant of Letters of Administration in the Supreme Court. While this application was being processed and before the formal grant was obtained, the respondent, through his attorney-at-law, wrote to the appellant company requesting the release of $17,030 from the proceeds of the policy of insurance. The sum being requested by the respondent's attorney-at-law was to cover the stamping of the Letters of Administration. It is common ground and not a matter in dispute that the stamping of the original Letters of Ac ministration was a precondition before it was sealed and signed by the Registrar of the Supreme Court.

8 Four grounds of appeal were filed on behalf of the appellant company. Of these, ground 4 was not argued. Grounds 1 to 3 read as follows:

• "1. The Learned Trial Judge erred in making an Order on an 'Originating Summons' which was not properly before the Court and pursuant to a procedure which was plainly defective.

• 2 The Learned Trial Judge erred in holding that Letters of Administration had been granted in the Estate of Roy Clinton Plummer.

• 3. Alternatively, the Learned Trial Judge erred in ordering the Appellant to pay over part of the proceeds of the policy of insurance when there had been no grant of Letters of Administration."

9 Grounds 1 and 2, the procedural grounds, may be considered together.

10 Ground 1

11 Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that what porported to have been an Originating Summons was in fact a summons taken out in an existing matter, Suit P. 1338 of 1998.

12 The summons was short-served, thus resulting in the appellant being unable to prepare an affidavit in response before the hearing of the matter.

13 Service of an Originating Summons and Notice of Appointment is governed by sections 533A, 533B and 533C of the Judicature (Civil Procedure Code) Law, which read as follows:

• "533A .Service shall be effected by delivering a sealed copy of the originating summons to the party to whom it is addressed and the party so served shall, before he is heard, enter appearance at the office of...