KINGSTON, Jamaica — Member of Parliament and Opposition Spokesperson on Land and Works, Lothan Cousins, is demanding immediate public disclosure of the court order relied upon in the recent pre-dawn demolition exercise in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, warning that if the order had expired without a lawful extension, the state faces serious exposure to damages claims.

Cousins pointed to Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 46.2(1), which requires express permission from the court before a writ of execution can be issued if six or more years have elapsed since the underlying judgment.

“Under CPR 46.2(1), a judgment creditor cannot simply sleep on their rights for a decade and execute a possession order as of right,” said Cousins. “We are demanding that this exact order be released immediately so we can verify whether it is lawful and whether it received the mandatory extension.”

He also stressed that historical Court of Appeal rulings restrict the order strictly to the 99 identifiable residents originally linked to the litigation.

“That order cannot be treated as a blank cheque,” the Opposition spokesperson said. “Removing anyone outside those 99 named parties without a fresh, independent and lawful court order is entirely illegal.”

He further cautioned that if state agents, including bailiffs and police officers, acted under an expired order without verifying a formal extension, the state itself is heavily exposed to legal liability.

“If no extension was sought from the court and the state relied on an outdated order, the state is profoundly exposed,” he warned. “Affected persons can, and should, claim damages from the state for participating in unauthorised, unlawful enforcement.”

Cousins strongly encouraged all residents impacted outside the strict parameters of the historical order to immediately seek independent legal counsel to pursue redress against both private and state actors.