Woman who tried to sue police officer must pay £2,000 costs
A woman who tried to sue a police officer will have to pay more than £2,000 in costs after she was deemed to have shown ‘a wholesale disregard’ to the court process.
Tammy Gill had actioned PC Lewis Winberg for £2,550 in the Petty Debts Court for what she claimed were his actions during a large disturbance involving several people that occurred outside Canvas nightclub in the early hours of 11 February last year.
The case was listed for trial and after indicating that she would be making an application for Judge Marc Davies to recuse himself from the case, she failed to turn up when that matter was due to be heard.
The substantive matter was due to be heard yesterday [13 Feb]when Ms Gill again failed to attend.
Defending PC Winberg, Crown Advocate Jason Hill asked the court for the claim to be dismissed and, somewhat unusually for the Petty Debts Court, costs to be awarded to the Crown because of the plaintiff’s unreasonable conduct.
He said Ms Gill had made the case more difficult by her actions, and during correspondence had made allegations against himself and the court in order to achieve a tactical advantage.
No e-mails or written correspondence had been received requesting adjournment to both hearings and the application was being made for costs in connection to a claim that she never intended to pursue. She was well aware that the hearing was taking place.
He asked the court to award the Crown £2,500 in costs which would be additional to the standard court fees to which she would now also be liable.
Judge Marc Davies dismissed Ms Gill’s claim against PC Winberg.
He said it was unusual for costs to be awarded beyond the basic fees in the Petty Debts Court and the court had to be satisfied that her actions fell within the definition of unreasonable conduct.
Ms Gill had shown a wholesale disregard to the court’s directions, he said, and the defence had been forced to lead and do significant additional work.
He was aware from correspondence that there was an acrimonious history to this case – video footage of the incident had been widely circulated on social media – and both professional and personal criticism had been directed at the defence.
The defendant had made suggestions and offers to Ms Gill over how she could view evidence she was seeking. There had been a wholesale disregard by Ms Gill to pursue her claim, Mr Davies added, and he said costs would be awarded against her.
Judge Davies ordered that she must pay £2,000 in costs to the Crown in full by 27 February, and standard court fees.
