Senior Magistrate Alex Moore who is suing the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack for in excess of $50M for defamation in the High Courts of Guyana, has responded to a Notice of Application filed by the DPP to strike out the claims made by Magistrate Moore.
The Magistrate has filed a response asking the court to dismiss the DPP contentions with a cost.
Magistrate Moore is a sitting Magistrate in the Corentyne Magisterial District. He is being represented by Attorneys at Law, Mayo Robertson, and Mr. Arudranauth Gossai.
The Magistrate’s main contention in his lawsuit is based on a letter sent by the DPP on December 5, 2019, to the acting Chancellor of Guyana, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and the Acting Chief Justice Roxanne George.
The DPP in her claim which was filed on August 18, 2020, asked the court to dismiss the Magistrate claims.
However, Moore in his response raised a number of issues through his lawyers. They are contending that their notice raises questions of fact which can only be determined after the taking of evidence in the matter.
Moore is further advised by his attorneys that striking out a claim is used sparingly and is limited in scope to plain and obvious cases where there is no point in having a trial. This is not so in this case, he contended.
The magistrate is further contending that in striking out an application only the Statement of Claim (which they filed) can be considered.
Another contention is that the DPP through her claim is seeking a mini-trial of the issues. Such a practice is wholly improper as the case cannot be determined by Affidavit, Moore argued.
The lawyer representing Moore further contends that the DPP is not entitled to the protection of the Justice Protection Act.
Moore argued that even if that were so, a determination of whether the DPP acted lawfully at the time is a question of fact to be determined by the Court after the taking of evidence.
Moore wants the Notice of Application to be thrown out since it is being used as a disguise and is an abuse of the process of the court.
Moore has been an attorney for more than 14 years and a Magistrate for the past nine years.
