iNews Briefs, More & Community Events
Cayman Islands Community Events
iPetitions – WE WANT DECENT INTERNET!
We, the undersigned, individuals, request that the Members of the Legislative Assembly in conjunction with the Information & Communications Technology Authority mandate that customers actually receive the broadband internet speeds that they are paying. We have all experienced deficiencies in internet speeds at time as low as 25% of what we paying for. The consistency in speeds is deplorable and we ask that the law allow for monetary infractions to be made against the ISPs in the Cayman Islands. Additionally, the complaint process for this should NOT be overly complex.
Petitioners: Give a brief comment as to what your experience has been. The ICTA needs to know!
To sign petition go to: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/we-want-decent-internet
Grand Court Jurors Report Date Changed
The Grand Court jury report date has been changed.
Grand Court Jurors who are in the 1 April – 30 June 2015 session are now to report on Tuesday, 16 June 2015 at 9:45 a.m.
Please call the Jury Information line at 945-5072 for the most up-to-date information.
Cayman Kids Club
Now accepting registrations for July – reserve your July Kids Club Pass online today!
Class spaces are limited so please RSVP to ensure a spot in the Cayman Kids Club!
For more information about this brand new programme and to book, contact Julie at [email protected] or visit www.caymankidsclub.com
Click on attachment to enlarge
FRI JUNE 12
Cayman Islands DVDL will close Friday (12)
The Crewe Road and West Bay offices of the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing will close for training on Friday morning, 12 June 2015. Instead the Crewe Road office will open from 1.00pm to 4.00pm, and the West Bay office from 1.30pm to 6.00pm for West Bay office. Normal hours resume at the West Bay Office on Saturday, 13 June from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Normal hours resume at Crewe Road on Monday, 15 June from 8.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Management and staff apologize for any inconvenience.
Road Closures Fri (12) & Sat (13)
The following road closures will take effect from 6am Friday 12 June 2015 until 1:00pm Saturday 13 June 2015 to facilitate ground preparation, rehearsal and the Queen’s Birthday Parade Celebrations in front of the Legislative Assembly Building.
Streets will be closed at the junctions of
Fort Street with Harbour Drive
Fort Street with Mary Street (Town Clock)
Edward Street with Dr. Roy’s Drive
Motorists are advised to avoid this area during these times.
Evangelistic Services
John Gray Memorial Church invites you to Evangelistic Services in June with services on Sunday at10am and a special youth night on Friday (12 Jun) at 7pm.
Caymanian Art: A New Frontier
The National Gallery presents the film launch of Caymanian Art: A New Frontier on.
Wesleyan Holiness Church Youth Camp Fish Fry
The Wesleyan Holiness Church Youth Camp Fish Fry and car wash is Saturday (13 June) from 7:30am to 12:30pm.
Cayman Outreach Association Summer Fayre
The Cayman Outreach Association Summer Fayre is Saturday (13 Jun) from 10am until 5pm at Kings Sports Center.
SAT JUNE 13
History, Culture and Governance of the Cayman Islands course
The third History, Culture and Governance of the Cayman Islands course for Permanent Residency Applicants -will be offered from Saturday, June 13 — Sunday, July 5. Classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays from 10- 2 pm for four weeks. Students can choose either day. Registration is now open.
Public Celebration for Queen’s Birthday
The public is invited to attend official celebrations of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday on Saturday 13 June 2015. A parade by the uniformed services begins at 9.00am, and will be followed by a brief ceremony at the Legislative Assembly, recognising recipients of Queen’s Honours and the Duke of Edinburgh award. The wet weather venue will be George Town, Town Hall. A garden party on the lawn of Government House will immediately follow the ceremony (at 10:15 a.m.) Address code of semi-formal day dress will be enforced. Hats are optional.
Wesleyan Holiness Church Youth Camp Fish Fry
The Wesleyan Holiness Church Youth Camp Fish Fry and car wash is Saturday (13 June) from 7:30am to 12:30pm.
Cayman Outreach Association Summer Fayre
The Cayman Outreach Association Summer Fayre is Saturday (13 Jun) from 10am until 5pm at Kings Sports Center.
History, Culture and Governance of the Cayman Islands course
The third History, Culture and Governance of the Cayman Islands course for Permanent Residency Applicants -will be offered from Saturday, June 13 — Sunday, July 5. Classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays from 10- 2 pm for four weeks. Students can choose either day. Registration is now open.
Summer Saturdays
Celebrate summer every Saturday on The Crescent at Camana Bay with fun activities for kids of all ages. Little tykes can chase bubbles as they float by while bigger kids build fortresses with Imagination Playground and teens challenge their friends to Jumbo Lawn Games including limbo, connect four, corn hole and more. The event is Saturday from 10am until 7pm.
Movie Night fundraiser
West Bay Girls’ Brigade Company is hosting a Movie Night fundraiser on Saturday (13 Jun) at John Gray Memorial Church Hall at 6pm
A Heart That Forgives Concert
The Savannah Primary School Choir presents A Heart That Forgives Concert in the School Hall on Saturday (13 Jun) at 7pm.
World Blood Donor Day
World Blood Donor Day is Saturday (13 Jun.) Head to the atrium at the Cayman Islands Hospital to register as a blood donor
Cayman Islands Early Childhood Association Meeting
The Cayman Islands Early Childhood Association will hold its monthly members’ meeting on Saturday (13 Jun) from 9 — 11am at St. Ignatius.
SUN 14 JUNE
Calvary Baptist Church 30 year Anniversary Celebrations
Calvary Baptist Church is hosting 30 year Anniversary Celebrations on Sunday (14 Jun) at 10am. This will be followed by five days of revival services at 730 pm nightly.
Church of God Full Gospel Hall in North Side All-Day Meeting
The Church of God Full Gospel Hall in North Side is hosting their annual All-Day-Meeting on Sunday (14 Jun) with Morning Worship at 11am at the North Side Civic Center. The afternoon service at 3pm and Evangelistic service at 7:30pm will be held at the Church of God Full Gospel Hall
Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre Crusade 2015
14 June , 2015
Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre Crusade 2015 presents ‘Taking Dominion’ Sunday — Friday (14 — 19 Jun) at 730pm nightly.
United Church of Jamaica & the Cayman Islands Communion
Join members of the United Church of Jamaica & the Cayman Islands at the Savannah United Church on Sunday (14 Jun) at 4:30pm to share in a special communion Service.
Community Fun & Sports Day
The Sports Ministries Department of the Cayman Islands Conference of Seventh-day Adventist is set to host a Community Fun & Sports Day on Sunday (14 June) at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.
MON 15 JUNE
North Side Wesleyan Holiness Church Soul’d Out Youth Group BBQ
The North Side Wesleyan Holiness Church Soul’d Out Youth Group will be having a Barbeque Fundraiser with Chef John on Monday (15 Jun) starting at 10:00am on the beach across from the church in North Side.
Try-This-Tri
The Try-This-Tri is Monday (15 Jun) at the Arts & Recreation Center at 6am. For more details, visit www.triathlon.ky.
Shofar Man’s Unity Call to Action Regional Gathering
The Shofar Man’s Unity Call to Action Regional Gathering is Sunday — Saturday (15 — 19 Jun.) They’re meeting on Monday at 7pm at the South Sound Community Hall; on Tuesday at 7pm in Heroes Park; on Thursday there will be a prayer drive from East End to West Bay and on Friday at 7pm they will be at the Church of God on Town Hall Road in West Bay.
Queen’s Birthday Garden Tea Party Cayman Brac
The Queen’s Birthday Garden Tea Party is from 4 — 630pm at Heritage House in Cayman Brac on Monday (15 Jun)
TUE JUNE 16
Cayman Islands Seafarers Association social
Cayman Islands Seafarers Association will be having their social on June 16 2015 at 7:00PM the Seafarer’s Hall. 11 Victory Ave. Prospect, entertainment will be provided
Grand Court Jurors Notice
Grand Court Jurors in the current session must report on Tuesday (16 Jun) at 945am.
Pirate’s Week Food Stall Application
The Pirates Week Food Court is inviting those interested in participating to apply for a food stall starting Tuesday (16 June) at 9:00 am. For more details please contact the Pirates Week Office at 949-5078 or [email protected].
Moonlight and Movies Summer Series
The Moonlight and Movies Summer Series is Tuesday (16 Jun) at 7pm in Gardenia Court. The feature film will be The Croods.
Cayman Islands diversifying economy
By Jason Smith From BVI Beacon
Efforts to diversify the Cayman Islands economy away from its traditional dependence on financial services and tourism are gaining steam with developments taking place in the medical tourism and marine services sectors, some of which echo similar plans put forward in the Virgin Islands.
On May 18, CI Premier Alden McLaughlin signed an agreement to create a maritime services park in a special economic zone, Cayman Enterprise City, in the south of Grand Cayman. The park will offer shipping firms tax benefits and eased regulations if they establish offices.
The zone already offers similar parks for technology, media and other international companies that have a physical presence in Cayman rather than simply being registered there.
Ship owners and maritime services companies have expressed interest, according to the CayCompass newspaper.
“Our sights are firmly set on the Cayman Islands being a world-class, full-service, international maritime centre,” Mr. McLaughlin said.
According to the newspaper, in the four years since the special economic zone has been established, 154 companies have set up shop in the territory.
Caribbean-American Heritage Month
By David Turshyan, Librarian, International Languages Department Los Angeles Central Library
Where are you going, friendly troubadour,
Crossing the vast seas with a long detour…?
These lines are from a poem entitled “Echoes of Exile” – in Spanish original “Ecos del destierro” – written by José Joaquín Pérez, a poet from the Dominican Republic. This poem, along with other poems, essays, plays and short stories can be found in a book of anthology, entitled Literatura del Caribe, Antología.
June kindly marks the Caribbean-American Heritage Month, giving us all an opportunity to celebrate, commemorate and to recognize the essential role of the peoples of the Caribbean and their rich multicultural heritage in the history of the United States. It is interesting to note that the first international acknowledgment of American independence took place in the Caribbean in 1776, when the Dutch Caribbean island St. Eustatius heralded the “First Salute” for the fledgling United States.
The peoples of the Caribbean are as diverse as the languages they speak. They are of Amerindian, African, Asian and European descent, speaking Spanish, Haitian Creole, French, English, Dutch, Chinese, as well as numerous dialects, known as patois, and Papiamentu, a creole language based principally on Portuguese and Spanish, containing elements of African languages, Arawak, Dutch, English and French. Some indigenous languages, such as Taíno, now considered an extinct Arawakan language, have greatly influenced and enriched other languages, including English, with such euphonious words as guava, iguana, papaya, savanna.
Each island of the Caribbean, while sharing pristine waters and perpetual sunshine, has a unique cultural identity and distinct wisdom, often finding its expression in the folklore of this multicultural and multilingual community. A Jamaican proverb, for example, says, “Alligator lay egg but ’im no fowl” – An alligator lays eggs, but it is not a fowl – which is simply a kind invitation or reminder for us all to view a subject not just from one point of view, but from every possible angle.
For more: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/uef3eh2yv69m/?&th=14de36d3186b2b86&v=c
Cayman Islands government taking steps to address problems with tourist derelict properties
During the Cayman Islands Finance Committee Meeting last week Department of Tourism Director Rosa Harris said that an abatement notice had been served to the owners of the now derelict Divi Tiara Beach Resort in Cayman Brac and concerns were also raised on the former Islander Hotel on the West Bay Road, Grand Cayman.
Divi Tiara Beach has been an eyesore for many years and sits on one of Cayman Brac’a most beautiful beaches. The owners closed the hotel down six years ago and have done nothing to it since.
The planning law gives the government powers to take legal action and fine owners for abandoning property on a daily basis until they clean up the site.
The former Islander Hotel site that sits opposite the Marriott Resort is suffering from extensive mould and provides cover for drug abusers. It is also believed to be infested with rats.
The planning director informed the committee members the state of the buildings would be raised again with the Central Planning Authority at this week’s meeting, with the aim of issuing a Section 29A Maintenance of Land Notice i to the property owners.
Murder charge dropped against woman who induced abortion
By Russ Bynum, The Associated Press
A Georgia prosecutor dismissed murder charges Wednesday against a 23-year-old woman accused of inducing an abortion by taking pills in a case that baffled even abortion opponents.
Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards issued a statement saying he had dismissed a malice murder charge against 23-year-old Kenlissia Jones, who was released from jail after about three days in confinement. Edwards said Jones still faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous drug.
Abortion-rights advocates and opponents of abortion alike had said they were stunned by the murder charge. Georgia has prohibited the prosecution of women for feticide or for performing illegal abortions in cases involving their own pregnancies. After reviewing the law, Edwards said he reached the same conclusion.
“Georgia law presently does not permit prosecution of Ms. Jones for any alleged acts related to the end of her pregnancy,” the prosecutor’s statement said. He planned a news conference later Wednesday afternoon.
Jones was arrested Saturday after a county social services worker called police to a hospital, according to an Albany police report. A hospital social worker told police that Jones had taken four Cytotec pills that she ordered online and delivered her fetus after breaking up with her boyfriend. Cytotec is a brand name for misoprostol, which is prescribed in the U.S. to heal ulcers and also to induce labor.
The social worker told police Jones went into labor and delivered the fetus in a car on the way to the hospital. The fetus did not survive. The police report does not say how far along Jones was in her pregnancy. WALB-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1Irtzju) earlier that authorities said Jones was about 5 ½ months pregnant.
“I have been involved in the pro-life movement for well over 20 years, and I’m not aware of a situation like this ever,” Genevieve Wilson, a director of the anti-abortion group Georgia Right to Life, said Thursday. “I’m very surprised by it.”
Bad weather knocks out Cayman Islands weather Doppler
During the Cayman Islands week long rainy weather that included flooding and thunder and lightning storms Grand Cayman’s Doppler radar system came offline last weekend and is still not operating.
There was a malfunction with the motor on the weather radar weather service officials reported.
FDA closer to approving twice-rejected female libido drug
By Laura Northrup From Consumerist
Yesterday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended that the agency approve a new drug, flibanserin, which would be marketed under the brand name Addyi. In headlines and in news reports, you see references to the drug as a “pink Viagra” or “Viagra for women.” Yet the drug works on the brain, not the genitals, and critics say that its side effects may not be worth its proven benefits. The FDA has already rejected the drug twice.
Low sexual desire is a common problem, according to Sprout Pharmaceuticals, owner of flibanserin/Addyi. They estimate that one-third of women experience it, and for about 10% of women, the condition is actually distressing, causing problems in their lives and their relationships.
One of groups lobbying for approval of flibanserin or a similar drug is called Even the Score. They a gender-equality argument and accuse the FDA of sex drug sexism: “There are 26 FDA approved drugs to treat various sexual dysfunctions for men (41 if you count generics!),” declares the group’s website, “but still not a single one for women’s most common sexual complaint.”
In addition to medical associations such as the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the supporters of Even the Score include, yes, Sprout Pharmaceuticals.
During yesterday’s meeting, the FDA’s director of the division of bone, reproductive and urologic products countered that there are no approved drugs that solely treat low sexual desire in either men or women.
The condition that flibanserin is intended to treat is called Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, defined as a recurring lack of sexual fantasies and desire in women who haven’t yet reached menopause. Critics say that the disorder was simply invented so that drug companies could invent treatments for it. With a potential market of 10% of all women required to take a pill every day, that’s a potentially lucrative market.
Researchers have tried different treatments for HSDD, and flibanserin has come the closest to FDA approval. Yet its possible side effects, which include dizziness, nausea, and dangerously low blood pressure, are worrisome. The main reason why flibanserin really isn’t LadyViagra is that it affects levels of neurotransmitters in the brain rather than the flow of blood to the genitals. It also has to be taken every day, not just before the patient plans to have sex.
“The unmet need seems to be so strong that even for a drug with rather modest benefit, I think approving the product with strong limitations seems to be the right step at this point,” one committee member told the New York Times. That means doctors would be required to undergo special training before they could prescribe the drug, and that patients would need special counseling before it’s prescribed for them.
For more: http://consumerist.com/2015/06/05/fda-closer-to-approving-twice-rejected-female-libido-drug/
Comedian John Oliver appears on Trinidad TV urging Warner to spill FIFA secrets
From CARIBBEAN360 IMAGE:
john oliver ‘LAST WEEK TONIGHT’ HOST JOHN OLIVER.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Wednesday June 10, 2015 – Comedian John Oliver was not joking when he said he would shell out money to address Jack Warner on television in his home country, Trinidad. In a paid message aired on TV6 last night, the ‘Last Week Tonight’ host urged Warner to spill all the spectacular FIFA revelations he has in the bag.
In true John Oliver style, the comedian threw in some Trinidad dialect – which he ackowledged he had to research – in a four-and-a-half-minute monologue, ‘The Mittens of Disapproval Are On’ that was recorded much like his usual HBO show, complete with audience laughter and applause.
It was a response to Warner’s paid, televised address to Trinidadians last week, ‘The Gloves Are Off’, in which the former FIFA vice-president promised to release “an avalanche” of secrets. The intro even mimicked Warner’s video.
But he said he was serious in his call for Warner, whom he said seemed like “an absolutely terrible human being”, to tell all.
“Mr Warner, do not blueball the entire planet by promising spectacular FIFA revelations and not delivering. I am begging you; release everything,” Oliver said.
“It’s not like you’re not already, potentially, in a lot of trouble. Seriously, I’ve been looking through the indictment and good luck with that!”
As he continued to address Warner directly, Oliver told him if he gave up the information as promised, he might still be able to salvage his “completely tattered reputation”.
“You owe it to the whole world to tell us. Why should you do it? Well, put it this way, Jack – everybdy hates you . . . But if you told on FIFA, do not underestimate how much people might be willing to forgive.”
The Mittens of Disapproval are On
Warner is among 14 people – nine of them current or former FIFA top officials and five sports marketing and broadcasting executives – accused of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, bribery.
United States prosecutors allege they offered and accepted more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks over a 24-year period.
EU commits $133 million in support for Latin America and Caribbean
By Caribbean News Now contributor From Curacao Chronicle
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union (EU) has agreed to commit 118 million euros ($133 million) in investment support for Latin America and Caribbean nations at the start of the second EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Brussels.
The European Commission said on Wednesday that the combination of loans, grants and other financial operations would seek to enhance trans-Atlantic cooperation.
The executive of the 28-nation EU said the support will centre on the transport, energy and environmental sectors.
Several CARICOM heads of government are in Brussels for the summit, which opened on Wednesday and concludes on Thursday.
The summit, under the theme “Shaping our common futures: Working for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies for our citizens” brings together 61 heads of state and government from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.
They were due to discuss bi-regional and global issues, and seek to deepen political dialogue on citizen-oriented initiatives, with special focus on sustainable growth, education, security and climate change.
Dominic Fedee: the role tourism can play in a sustainable Caribbean economy
From The St Lucia Times
WILTON PARK – Tourism could deliver even more economic and social returns to the Caribbean. That is the view of Regional Public Relations Manager for Sandals Resorts International in the Eastern Caribbean and recently nominated candidate for the main opposition United Workers Party Anse LaRaye Canaries constituency seat, Dominic Fedee.
Fedee spoke on the subject The Role Tourism Can Play in a Sustainable Caribbean Economy at a recent conference in the United Kingdom, dubbed “New Thinking for the Caribbean 2030.”
According to him, the Caribbean has failed to optimize the enormous benefits tourism can contribute toward the development of the Caribbean region.
He posited that the time for the mobilization of the entire society to engage the tourism sector more effectively is now.
“There is an urgent need for the Caribbean agriculture and manufacturing sector to explore inter-sectorial linkages with the main economic driver of the Caribbean more effectively. The consumption pattern of the industry is enormous, amounting to hundreds of millions,” Fedee said.
He continued to note that innovation and new thinking is required to overcome the obstacles blocking inter-sectorial linkages to stimulate growth, reduce unxemployment and improve the general quality of life in the Caribbean.
During the Wilton Park conference, which saw the attendance of politicians, academics and prominent members of the private sector from the Caribbean, Fedee said that tourism would continue to be the Caribbean’s lead sector for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the region must embrace tourism more purposefully.
Further, the UWP nominee for the Anse La Raye/Canaries constituency cites greater cohesion among the key economic sectors in the region as a major strategy for development.
“There is no point that we continue to focus on expanding tourism arrivals while other sectors continue to be far removed from the industry’s success,” Fedee said. “Creating the linkages is the key to leveraging more economic opportunity from the sector, not overburdening it with taxes. Send a strong signal to tourism that agriculture, manufacturing, cottage industries, financial services, transportation, and other key sectors are ready to exceed its expectations.”
Building on the promise of the opportunities now can help the Caribbean to look forward to tourism playing a stronger role in its collective economy with optimism, Fedee said.
Caribbean countries post strong first-quarter tourist arrivals
By Brian Major From Travel Pulse
Caribbean destinations began 2015 with a flourish, said Richard Sealy, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Barbados tourism minister.
Collectively CTO’s 28 member countries recorded a six percent increase in first quarter 2015 tourist arrivals versus the same period in 2014, marking 17 consecutive quarters of growth, said Sealy in an address to media Thursday at the CTO’s Caribbean Week event in New York.
Caribbean destinations hosted eight million visits to the region, with U.S. travelers increasing by 5.6 percent during the period. Travelers from the Canada market grew by 5.4 percent during the period with Cuba and Dominican Republic among the destinations reporting increased arrivals.
Sealy said Caribbean hoteliers also enjoyed a strong first quarter, recording “historical first quarter highs” in room occupancy (77.8 percent); average daily rate ($239.84) and revenue per available room ($188.25). Regional accommodations providers also recorded a “modest” 1.3 percent increase in the number of rooms available during the first quarter.
Although “Growth is expected to be moderate and uneven among member countries,” during the remainder of 2015, “tourist arrivals are now anticipated to rise at least six percent over 2014,” said Sealy.
First quarter 2015 cruise ship calls at Caribbean destinations grew more slowly in comparison with land-based arrivals. Cruise passenger arrivals increased by 3.4 percent during the period to 8.6 million visitors, compared with a 4.3 percent increase in 2014 versus 2013.
The region’s highest-performing cruise destinations included Martinique (with cruise passengers up by 34.2 percent), Puerto Rico (26.2 percent), Antigua & Barbuda (18.6 percent) and Jamaica (15.9 percent).
Sealy further warned that Caribbean destinations’ first quarter cruise segment growth “could be reduced as cruise ships are repositioned away from the region.”
Sealy said that despite the Obama’s administration’s attempt last December to relax restrictions on travel to Cuba via executive order, he did not envision an easing of the restrictions “any time soon.”
Indeed, The Republican-controlled House of Representatives defeated a proposal Thursday to strip language from a transportation funding bill that would prevent licensing of new flights or cruises to Cuba.
Nevertheless, Sealy said Cuba, a CTO member country, attracts millions of travelers each year, primarily from Canada and Europe. “We are not talking about a country that is new to tourism at all,” Sealy said. For the time being, “Cuba will welcome new travelers on its own terms,” he said.
“Cuba is not a problem for the Caribbean Tourism Organization,” Sealy added. “If any of our members can attract people to the region, it’s good for the region.”
PHOTO: Martinique led CTO destinations in first quarter 2015 cruise ship arrivals. (Photo by Brian Major)
For more on this story go to: http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/caribbean-countries-post-strong-first-quarter-tourist-arrivals.html
Oil Heir Hit With $40.9M Judgment
By John Council, From Texas Lawyer
In the latest chapter of the saga of wealthy oil heir who resists paying his legal bill, Dallas U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay declined Albert G. Hill III’s request to ignore a mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that orders Hill to pay more than $28 million to two Texas law firms.
The grand total that Hill now owes Houston’s Campbell Harrison & Dagley and Dallas’ Calloway, Norris, Burdette & Weber—including pre- and post-judgment interest—is $40.9 million, according to a June 3 judgment Lindsay signed in the long-running attorney fee battle in Campbell Harrison & Dagley v. Hill.
Hill and his wife have spent years battling a number of former attorneys who helped Hill access his trust fund in litigation that settled globally for approximately $188 million. [See “BAM! Counsel Win $21 Million in Fees From Clients Who Wouldn’t Pay,” Texas Lawyer, Jan. 20, 2013.]
When Hill refused to pay Campbell Harrison and Calloway Norris, the firms compelled arbitration and won more than $3 million in hourly-rate fees and approximately $25 million in contingency fees from a panel of arbitrators. Lindsay originally vacated the contingency fee portion of the award last year, but the Fifth Circuit reversed the ruling in April after finding that Lindsay was not allowed to substitute his judgment for the arbitrators in the case. [See “Oil Heir Ordered to Pay $28M to His Lawyers,” Texas Lawyer, April 13, 2015.]
In a response he filed last month, Hill opposed the entry of judgment and requested a stay in the case by arguing that the Fifth Circuit got it wrong. Hill also noted in his response that he intends to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari in the case. [See “Oil Heir Al Hill III Keeps Fighting, Hires Another Lawyer,” Texas Lawyer, May 28, 2015.]
Lindsay was not persuaded by Hill’s arguments in a June 3 memorandum opinion and order.
“The court rendering the mandate in this instance is the Fifth Circuit, not the district court. This court lacks authority to stay the execution of the appellate court’s mandate,” Lindsay wrote in the order. “That a petition for writ of certiorari may be filed does not alter the court’s analysis.”
If they wanted a stay of the judgment, Hill and his wife should have asked the Fifth Circuit, which they failed to do under the Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 41(d), Lindsay wrote in his order.
“Had the Hills complied with this rule and convinced the Fifth Circuit that a certiorari petition would present a ‘substantial question’ and that there is ‘good cause’ for a stay, this court would have no choice but to stay the entry of a judgment,” Lindsay wrote. “As the Hills did not obtain a stay of the mandate pursuant to Rule 41 (d), this court has no authority to delay the entry of judgment as directed.”
Lindsay also noted in his June 3 order that the Hills offered no evidence that a proposed judgment contained the “wrong calculation of interest” due to the law firms and that they therefore waived their challenge. Lindsay ordered the Hills to pay the firms $40.9 million in a separate judgment he issued on June 3.
“We’re very gratified that the courts— the Fifth Circuit and Judge Lindsay— have told the Hills they need to honor their obligations, and we’re very gratified by the ruling,” said Tom Wright, a partner in Houston’s Wright & Close, who represents the two law firms.
Lindsay’s response to the Hills’ request for stay of the judgment was a basic call on how the federal appellate system works, Wright noted.
“Like [Lindsay] said in his memorandum order, if they want a stay from the Fifth Circuit, they need to ask the Fifth Circuit,” Wright said.
A statement released by John Da Grosa Smith, an Atlanta attorney who represents the Hills, noted: “Until we obtain a ruling from the Supreme Court, the district court believes it has no discretion to do anything but enter judgment. Judge Lindsay made it clear that he believes his hands are tied.
“When you see that judgment in black and white, you see the problem here,” according to Smith’s emailed statement. “The amounts are shocking by any standard. Add to that the fact that these weren’t the attorneys who prevailed for the Hill family, and you understand why this is an important public policy issue.
“This kind of fee award calls into question just who the legal system is meant to serve—clients or their lawyers,” Smith notes. “You also have to ask why such a serious question in the legal system is immune from review by courts or the state of Texas, relegated to a private arbitration with no checks and balances on the legal profession.”
As for the prospect of battling the Hills before the U.S. Supreme Court in the attorney fee battle, Wright noted: “I suppose they’ll try to take it there. I can’t imagine the Supreme Court being interested in a case that simply enforces an arbitration award.”
IMAGE: John Da Grosa Smith
For more on this story go to: http://www.texaslawyer.com/id=1202728393748/Oil-Heir-Hit-With-409M-Judgment#ixzz3cCfdz58o
