Court of Appeal Judge Nolan Bereaux on Wednesday dismissed Eastman Enterprise’s request for an urgent hearing of its appeal against the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), ruling the case lacked sufficient merit to jump the queue.
In a media statement on Wednesday, CEPEP said Eastman Enterprise Ltd had appealed the judgment while seeking an expedited hearing, citing the hardship of dismissed workers.
Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, representing CEPEP, argued that Eastman Enterprises had already collected more than $9 million from the programme and questioned why the contractor was not seeking other opportunities to support its workers.
Justice Bereaux said there was no compelling evidence of urgency and ordered Eastman to pay CEPEP’s legal costs. The substantive appeal will still be heard in the normal course.