Not a money-making court - Judge warns plaintiffs not to expect big payouts

Corporate Area residents who will be seeking large sums in compensation from persons who have injured them in confrontations, may not be successful in their claims, Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell has warned.

"This is not a money-making court. I don't make awards for pain and suffering," the judge said. Burrell expressed discontent with complainants attending the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court who express their desire to be compensated in exorbitant sums. One such matter involves Euton Savage, who pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm. The complainant and Savage went to mediation, but the matter was not successfully resolved as the complainant rejected Savage's offer of $10,000 to compensate for his medical bills.

When the matter was mentioned before the senior judge, the complainant explained that although he is "OK now", having recovered from injuries he sustained in the incident, he wanted to be compensated for his loss of earnings.

"You have to sue him to recover those funds, but remember you tell me that you are OK. You will have to file an affidavit and have your receipts to present to the judge of your medical bills and that is done at the court on King Street. This is not the court for it. I had the man pay you for your medication and bus fare. If you want the millions, go downtown," Burrell noted.

It was shared that there was a physical altercation between Savage and the complainant, allegedly because of a woman. The complainant, the court heard, was in a relationship with the woman but she is now with Savage, who is Rastafarian.

"It is my woman," Savage expressed.

"Even if the conflict is over your empress, you still have to follow the way of Haile Selassie. Do not come back here again. You are admonished and discharged," the judge warned.