IN light of the continuing disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, see below for three of the latest developments concerning the Judiciary and conducting business in Companies Registry of Trinidad and Tobago:
All Court Buildings are closed
By virtue of its latest Practice Direction 19.2 regarding Court Operations during the pandemic (available online), from Christmas Eve (December 24, 2021) to January 2, 2022 (inclusive) all court buildings have been closed to the public. This includes the District/Magistrates’ Courts, High Courts and Courts of Appeal. No in-person appointments are being permitted during this time. Save for matters deemed urgent, all hearings whether in-person or virtual are suspended during this period.
More time to sue
All legal matters with a period of limitation for filing before it is considered statute barred (which are governed by the Limitations of Certain Actions Act, Chapter 7:09) have gotten a further extension of the time not to be considered in the calculation of the period of limitation. That period is from March 27, 2020 to May 2, 2022. (See Legal Notice 292 of 2021 – The Limitation of Certain Actions (Extension of Period) (No. 3) Order, 2021 – available online).
Matters such as those involving contract law, tort law (e.g., negligence) and enforcement of judgments would be affected by this extension. This likely sounds like gibberish, so I’ll break it down.
For some types of matters, e.g., medical negligence, you do not have the luxury to wait however long you wish before you sue. There is a deadline (period of limitation) when your matter can become statute-barred (meaning, the defendant (whether guilty or not) can completely defend the matter by saying you sued too late). The said Limitations of Certain Actions Act sets out a limitation period of four years from when the cause of action (the harm or knowledge of the harm) occurred for medical negligence. To calculate the limitation period, you will not count the period March 27, 2020, to May 2, 2022. This is a technical matter at times, so check with your lawyer to make sure your matter is not statute-barred and to find out how much time you have before it would be.
Company Documents – important extensions
By virtue of Legal Notice Nos. 289 and 290 (available online) time has been extended from January 5, 2022 to May 2, 2022 for the registration of charges (security for a loan) and for the waiver of penalties for late filings (such as annual returns).
Always check with your lawyer to see if you can benefit from any of the extensions mentioned above. Have a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!
Disclaimer:The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted.
More Extensions to do Business
IN light of the continuing disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, see below for three of the latest developments concerning the Judiciary and conducting business in Companies Registry of Trinidad and Tobago:
All Court Buildings are closed
By virtue of its latest Practice Direction 19.2 regarding Court Operations during the pandemic (available online), from Christmas Eve (December 24, 2021) to January 2, 2022 (inclusive) all court buildings have been closed to the public. This includes the District/Magistrates’ Courts, High Courts and Courts of Appeal. No in-person appointments are being permitted during this time. Save for matters deemed urgent, all hearings whether in-person or virtual are suspended during this period.
More time to sue
All legal matters with a period of limitation for filing before it is considered statute barred (which are governed by the Limitations of Certain Actions Act, Chapter 7:09) have gotten a further extension of the time not to be considered in the calculation of the period of limitation. That period is from March 27, 2020 to May 2, 2022. (See Legal Notice 292 of 2021 – The Limitation of Certain Actions (Extension of Period) (No. 3) Order, 2021 – available online).
Matters such as those involving contract law, tort law (e.g., negligence) and enforcement of judgments would be affected by this extension. This likely sounds like gibberish, so I’ll break it down.
For some types of matters, e.g., medical negligence, you do not have the luxury to wait however long you wish before you sue. There is a deadline (period of limitation) when your matter can become statute-barred (meaning, the defendant (whether guilty or not) can completely defend the matter by saying you sued too late). The said Limitations of Certain Actions Act sets out a limitation period of four years from when the cause of action (the harm or knowledge of the harm) occurred for medical negligence. To calculate the limitation period, you will not count the period March 27, 2020, to May 2, 2022. This is a technical matter at times, so check with your lawyer to make sure your matter is not statute-barred and to find out how much time you have before it would be.
Company Documents – important extensions
By virtue of Legal Notice Nos. 289 and 290 (available online) time has been extended from January 5, 2022 to May 2, 2022 for the registration of charges (security for a loan) and for the waiver of penalties for late filings (such as annual returns).
Always check with your lawyer to see if you can benefit from any of the extensions mentioned above. Have a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!
Copyright © 2021 Neela Ramsundar, LL.B (HONS), L.E.C is a Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted.