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Evicted woman suffers court setback

(Photo by Glenn Tucker)Evicted: A disappointed Leyoni Junos makes her way from Commercial Court in the Government Administration Building in Hamilton yesterday.

A former civil servant struggling to challenge her eviction has vowed to fight on after a defeat in the Supreme Court.LeYoni Junos has been staying with friends since workmen broke the locks and emptied her house under orders from HSBC bank.The bank has maintained that it legally owns the property, but Ms Junos said she has never been given a precise figure for what she owes.The 50-year-old failed to meet mortgage payments after losing her job as administrator of the African Diaspora Heritage Trail (ADHT) programme in 2009. She later won an unfair dismissal case against Government.However, in July 2010, HSBC was awarded a writ of possession for the Middle Road, Warwick property.Last week, Ms Junos returned home to find the last of her possessions being trucked away to the Tynes Bay Incinerator. Yesterday in open court, she told Puisne Judge Ian Kawaley the eviction hadn’t been lawful.Representing herself, Ms Junos said to Justice Kawaley: “The process was unlawful because their writ of possession has expired, and they had not come to court to get a further writ. They broke into my home without notice, and incinerated all my personal belongings.”She has already tried to obtain a judicial review of a July 6, 2011 eviction warrant, arguing that the original Order granting possession did not specify a date. Chief Justice Richard Ground then refused leave, calling her application “unarguable” and “out of time”.Yesterday, Ms Junos said the bank’s first attempt to seize the house in July had been unlawful because the writ it was based upon had expired.“The locks were changed in that attempted eviction, and my belongings were left inside,” she said. “I’m not sure why.“On or about August 1, I regained possession by having the locks changed.”Ms Junos told the court that the bank should have applied for a writ of restitution before taking the house in her absence.“They returned on December 7 while this appeal was in the process,” she said. “They sent out persons who actually smashed windows and removed my belongings and incinerated them.”Justice Kawaley deliberated for 45 minutes before refusing leave for a judicial review.In his ruling, the judge said it was difficult to see how the court could judicially review its own orders adding that if Ms Junos was indeed able to challenge the bank’s eviction warrant, she would have to apply by writ or by a summons.Afterward, Ms Junos admitted: “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I will have to digest this and take legal advice.”She said she expected her next move to be a legal action against HSBC bank itself. In the meantime, Ms Junos said, she continues to rely on friends for shelter.In a statement, HSBC said: “While a difficult circumstance, as confirmed in earlier statements, HSBC has acted, and will only act, in strict adherence with our legal rights as the legal owner of the property”