Barbados Judge Steps Aside From Retired Judge’s Lawsuit Against the State

The west wing and clock tower of the Parliament Buildings in Bridgetown, Barbados. The lawsuit names the Attorney General, who answers for the State in court. (Photo: giggel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

COURTS · BARBADOS

A Barbados judge has stepped aside from retired judge Dr Sonia Richards’ constitutional lawsuit, citing a conflict of interest. Justice Shona Griffith had ruled in July that the case should go to trial, Barbados Today reported on Saturday 3 October.

Dr Richards is suing the State, through the Attorney General, and Sir Patterson Cheltenham, then chief justice and head of the judiciary. She alleges defamation, negligence and breaches of her constitutional rights.

Why the Barbados judge stepped aside

Justice Griffith said the conflict arose because she had sat on the bench at the same time as Dr Richards. Recusal is the standard step when a judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned, and it decides nothing about the claim.

First she ordered Dr Richards to re-amend her claim and serve it on Roger Forde KC, senior counsel for both defendants. The revamped claim was filed in the High Court on Wednesday 30 September.

Justice Patrick H Wells will now hear the case on 29 October. Her July order had already said the next hearing would take place before a different judge.

What the July ruling left standing

In a 76-page judgment issued on 31 July, Justice Griffith struck out four claims as disclosing no reasonable grounds. They concerned security of the person, protection from inhuman and degrading treatment, and consideration for an extension of tenure.

The fourth alleged removal from office in breach of sections 84(3) and 84(4) of the Constitution. That left the case narrower, but alive.

Dr Richards may still argue that her security of tenure was breached, though not through any alleged removal from office. She may also claim a breach of her right to the protection of the law, once she pleads how it arose.

Three separate defamation claims go forward, along with claims over her terms of employment and the duty of care. Her redrafted claim seeks stigma, exemplary and constitutional or vindicatory damages.

How the dispute began

The retired Barbados judge joined the bench on 1 April 2006 and retired on 17 May 2022, aged 66. She alleges that on 12 April 2022 she found the lock to her office changed and her name removed from the door.

She says she asked to serve two years beyond the retirement age of 65 and was granted one by the then governor-general. She argues that the consultation required by section 84(1A) of the Constitution never took place.

Barbados Today called the suit unprecedented when it reported the filing in April 2026. In May the defendants sought to strike out the whole claim, arguing that judicial immunity covered the former chief justice’s official acts.

The defence position

Sir Patterson told Barbados Today in April that he rejected all of the assertions against him. Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams, the government’s chief legal officer, said then only that he was aware of the matter.

On Friday Mr Forde said his first priority was whether the claimant had complied properly with the judge’s order. “The judge told them to do something in a particular way,” he told the newspaper.

The handover keeps the case on track, since a new judge and a hearing date are already set. Dr Richards is represented by attorney-at-law Lalu Hanuman. For background on the island’s institutions, see Barbados Explained: The Island, the Economy, the Republic and What to Watch.

What Is Not Yet Known

It is not yet known whether the defendants will challenge the re-amended claim for non-compliance. The July order warned that missed deadlines could lead to a party’s case being struck out, or to costs.

The defendants have six weeks from service of the statement of claim to file a defence, so that date is also open. No other outlet had reported the recusal by Saturday afternoon, and the details are not independently confirmed.

Sources: Barbados Today, “Judge recuses herself from constitutional lawsuit”, 3 October 2026; Barbados Today reports on the case of 7 April, 20 May and 31 July 2026; Nation News, “Mixed ruling”, 2 August 2026.

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