CPA spent almost $1M in losing battle with NCC
(CNS): A partial release in response to a freedom of information request relating to the Cayman Islands Government’s battle, through the Central Planning Authority, with its own conservation law and the National Conservation Council revealed that it has cost the public purse close to CI$1 million. The request for information didn’t result in a full response, but after six months, the CNS reader who made the FOI obtained the costs so far of the CPA’s failed legal battle.
The request also revealed that the government paid Blackstone Chambers in London £8,400 to redraft the National Conservation Act. However, the request for emails and correspondence relating to these two issues was refused.
The CIG stated that they were all either legally privileged or contained advice prepared for the Cabinet or a minister. The government also claims there are no meeting minutes or notes in existence relating to the re-drafting of the conservation law.
The anticipated controversial amendments to the NCA have still not been published. However, CNS has learned that the draft has been completed and is being prepared to be published and filed with parliament shortly, though its passage remains in question.
It is understood that neither the official opposition party, the PPM, nor the independent opposition members are willing to support the current minority UPM administration to do anything more over the coming months than keep the business of government ticking along until the election.
Meanwhile, the current government’s dislike of and complaints about the NCA have led to its support of the CPA’s doomed legal challenges to two directives made by the Department of Environment through the National Conservation Act.
One, which was related to planning permission given to a project on Boggy Sand Beach, would have allowed a developer to build a new sea wall and a two-storey cabana in the sea in a marine park. The other was related to clearance and road construction on land now designated as a protected area for blue iguanas.
The biggest single beneficiary of the nearly one million dollars spent fighting the NCC’s lawful directives was local firm Jackson Law, owned by Sammy Jackson, a political candidate in Red Bay at the last election who lost to former premier Alden McLaughlin. Jackson was paid CI$504,655 and Blackstone received around $348,000 for their work as the lead litigators.
Jackson has not yet announced whether or not he intends to be a candidate in 2025.
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Category: Courts, development, Local News
North Side people I hope you are reading and keeping tabs on how your representative is spending the public’s money. The million dollars in legal fees could have been put to better use.
You should be asking yourselves too where all the money is coming from to pay for the extravagant parties and handouts over the last two weeks. Mark my words it will come with a cost.
Vote corruption and incompetence out next April.
The cpa had to appeal since the grand court did such a bad job with its judgment so I’m not surprised. The court of appeal basically ruled against the grand court judge but found in the NCC’s favor on totally different grounds which make more sense than the grand courts very confused judgment.
@ 1:34 pm. The ACC which is infrequently successful? Hopefully, they would not charge much even if they could.
External consultants do well advising on government projects regardless of their profession.
Directly from the July 2024 Office of the Auditor General report on the Regen project.
Page 12 – Maples and Calder (Cayman LLP) and Burges Salmon LLP were selected as the legal advisors.
Page 17 – As reported earlier, the Government hired external consultants to act as its financial, legal, technical and environmental advisors to assist in its decision-making on Regen. As of September 2021, the Government had spent $6.5 million on these external advisors.
Page 18 – The Government had spent $3.7 million on legal advisers but it did not set a budget for this.
This is insanity — one part of government battling another in court, with the public being forced to pay exorbitant sums for a team of overpriced lawyers on each side to go at one another. This is what happens when politicians have no respect for the public purse. This is how debt accumulates. This is how we get to a situation where politicians cry “we don’t have enough revenue to fund needed services”. And on and on. Can’t Cayman elect people who are more responsible and capable than the bunch in control at this time?
The members of the Central Planning Authority
should be made to pay these costs and maybe they’ll think twice about bringing frivolous lawsuits against another Government entity in the future.
$1m here, $38Gm there, WTH??
Gross maladministration of public funds is illegal!
Who is accountable??
How can he represent the CPA when he appears against them for private clients? Seems like a conflict of interest to me.
That’s never stopped Sammy before, lol
The NCC legal bill should be added to the CPA bill to be paid by the CPA as it was because of the CPA unlawful actions that the case went to court
This is one helluva poor investment.
This government’s specialty
The CIG spends millions upon millions on ego-driven litigation, losing settlements, garden leaves, and redacted early retirement packages. We never hear about most of them. Almost all of these seven figure public costs were due to mismanagement and avoidable.
CI$504,655!! Assuming a very generous attorney hourly rate of CI$750 per hour, that is 672 hours spent on the case…or 16.82 full standard working weeks. When it is free money to spend though who needs to bother checking the legal bills.
Cayman like the US is being run by obnoxious greedy rich a holes
Chump change for the developer lobby.
except that we the tax payers are paying these costs generated by the CPA while the only intended benefit was for developers (and the politicians they own)
Sammy billed more than Blackstone? V impressive…
Here you go folks – exhibit A of what corruption costs this country!!
No big deal, what’s another million as we have lots of money to blow.
Make the CPA chairman pay it as he seems to be in very good financial shape.
Does everyone remember the obnoxious pig headed comments that the CPA chairman made when he started the court battle? Guess when it is not your own money you don’t give a dam. Will he be running for elected office soon?
Money is absolutely no problem in this very wealthy society where money grows on trees. 😭
How much was the NCC bill?
That could be an interesting comparison.
What would the ACC charge?
Good question, since, after all, it was the NCC that started this battle . CPA had no choice but to defend itself
Actually, the CPA did not follow lawful directions therefore they started the legal battle
They are not allowed to admit error? i.e. plead guilty.