The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) last Monday upheld the local High Court decision in favour of the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI), ruling that Desiree Alleyne, a director of a defaulting company, repay the Bank $10 million with interest.
Alleyne, a sitting Magistrate in Jamaica, was a director of Wilzon Enterprises Inc. which had defaulted in its payments to the Bank on a loan taken out in August 1996. Alleyne, along with the two other directors, were listed as personal guarantors. The director, however, contended that she knew nothing of this guarantee and that she did not sign or initial it.
When the matter was heard in the High Court, Justice BS Roy ruled in favour of the Bank. The matter was then taken to the Court of Appeal, and by majority, it reversed the decision of the High Court and ordered a retrial. When ruling in the case, Justices of Appeal Yonette Cummings-Edwards and James Bovell-Drakes ruled
