Hosein (Appellant) v Ramnarine-Hill (Respondent) (Trinidad & Tobago)
Case ID: JCPC 2019/0061
Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Case summary
Issue
(1) Whether the Disciplinary Committee was entitled to find as it did; in particular, whether it had erred in its handling and analysis of evidence.
(2) Whether the Disciplinary Committee had been entitled to prevent Mr Hosein from putting a document in evidence, and if not, the implications of this for the safety of its findings.
Facts
The appellant, Mr Hosein, practised as a lawyer. Ms Nazreen Ali instructed him in 2009 to pursue a claim for damages arising out of the death of her husband in a motor accident. Mr Hosein reached a settlement with the insurer in January 2011. The relevant claims handler at the insurer, Ms Ramnarine-Hill, is the Respondent in these proceedings.
In February 2011, Ms Ali met with Ms Ramnarine-Hill and showed her letters which she understood were from Ms Ramnarine-Hill setting out the insurer’s offer. However, those letters showed a lower settlement amount than that which had been offered by Ms Ramnarine-Hill on the insurer’s behalf. Ms Ali was of the view that the letters had been forged by Mr Hosein. She terminated his services that same day.
In May 2011, Ms Ramnarine-Hill made a complaint against Mr Hosein on the basis that he had forged the letters and offered Ms Ali a lower settlement figure than that he had agreed with Ms Ramnarine-Hill. The Disciplinary Committee considered the matter and, in March 2013, determined that Mr Hosein had committed acts of professional misconduct.
In March 2013, Mr Hosein appealed to the Court of Appeal against the Disciplinary Committee’s decision. The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Hosein’s appeal in July 2018. Mr Hosein was granted final leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on 15 April 2019.
Parties
Appellant(s)
Hosein
Respondent(s)
Ramnarine-Hill
Appeal
Justices
Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Briggs, Lady Arden, Lord Sales, Lord Stephens
Hearing start date
09 Feb 2021
Hearing finish date
09 Feb 2021
Judgment details
Judgment date
25 October 2021
Neutral citation
[2021] UKPC 28
| Watch hearing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 09 Feb 2020 | Afternoon session | |