Stockbroker Carol Green has been ordered by the courts to repay more than $140,000 of debt run up with her former employer Lines Overseas Management.

The suit, brought by Lines Overseas Management (LOM) against Ms Green, claimed she had incurred a debt of $110,643.26 plus interest in personal “margin accounts” that went in to overdraft.

Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux earlier this month ruled that the plaintiff, LOM, had demonstrated “upon a balance of probabilities” that the defendant, Ms Green, owed the debt.

And he awarded LOM the debt amount plus interest, which was calculated as $29,850.49 through October 10, 2001.

In the case, which was heard in the Supreme Court last October, LOM claimed two separate margin accounts were opened by Ms Green - during the period of her employment between 1995 and 1997 - as Carol Green and CMG Ltd. accounts, which were, at one point, down by more than $400,000.

A margin account was defined as an investment account where the client buys stocks partly with his or her own cash and partly with money borrowed from the brokerage firm, and the stocks bought are used as collateral.

The court heard that despite LOM's requests that Ms Green reduce the amount of debt in the accounts, the total amount paid against the overdraft by Ms Green was $35,000.

Later, LOM went in and sold securities in the account, which cancelled out all but $110,000 of the debt.

In making his judgment, Justice Meerabux said Ms Green, self-described as an “investment professional” and with more than 20 years investment experience, would be “intimately familiar with the concept of margin accounts and how they operate”.

And he found that she had “failed to pay all her debts justly due to the Plaintiff and breached the terms of her account in failing to pay all indebtedness”.

A counter suit from Ms Green alleged that one of her former bosses, LOM president Brian Lines, assaulted her in a dispute over the debt owing. In addition, the defendant claimed breach of contract, wrongful withdrawal of money from her account and constructive dismissal.

Justice Meerabux threw out the counterclaims. Although in the case of the alleged assault, Justice Meerabux found that Mr. Lines had “laid his hand on her” and that his “conduct was unbecoming of his position as President of the Plaintiff as well as unacceptable”. But he also found that Ms Greens' “apprehensions” related to her accounts.

He said: “Accordingly I ruled that the alleged tort of assault was not proved on a balance of probabilities by the Defendant.”

It is understood that the total amount of monies awarded to LOM is subject to mounting interest on the debt principal. LOM chief financial officer Malcolm Moseley told The Royal Gazette that a summary judgment had ruled the amount inclusive of interest, to date was $143,536.92.

Mr. Moseley added that LOM “will be pursuing recovery”. Justice Meerabux also said he will “hear argument as to costs”.

Meanwhile, Ms Green's lawyer Mark Diel said his client does intend to file an appeal against the judgment.