Sagicor Bank Jamaica Ltd (Respondent) v YP Seaton (Appellant) (Jamaica)
Case ID: JCPC 2021/0003
Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal of Jamaica
Case summary
Issue
Whether the Court of Appeal erred in (1) finding that the Appellants were due repayment of JMD 9,200,000 rather than JMD 15,254,583.69, (2) not awarding compound interest on that sum, and (3) not ordering account to be taken of the bank accounts from which the wrongful debits were made on the basis that those accounts accrued compound interest.
Facts
On 16 October 1992, the Bank debited JMD 15,254,583.69 from accounts held by the Appellants with the Bank. Later, on a date prior to 6 August 1993, the Bank froze certain foreign currency accounts held at the Bank by Mr Seaton. Both actions were taken by the Bank in relation to a dispute that had arisen between the Jamaica Commodity Trading Company (JCTC), a statutory body responsible for importing certain products into Jamaica, and a Belgian supplier Prolacto SA (Prolacto). The Appellants were Prolacto’s agent and responsible for converting payments made by the JCTC in JMD to USD for remittance to Prolacto. The Supreme Court of Jamaica held that the debits above were unlawful and ordered an account to be taken of the frozen foreign currency accounts. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, including reducing the amount payable, and substituting the award of compound interest for simple interest. The Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal to the JCPC on 26 October 2020.
Parties
Appellant(s)
Y P Seaton
Respondent(s)
Sagicor Bank Jamaica Ltd
Appeal
Justices
Lord Hodge, Lord Kitchin, Lord Burrows, Lord Stephens, Lady Rose
Hearing start date
12 May 2022
Hearing finish date
12 May 2022
| Watch hearing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2022 | Morning session | Afternoon session |
Judgment details
Judgment date
8 December 2022
Neutral citation
[2022] UKPC 48