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Duck International takes Ms. B’s to court again
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jan 19, 2006 18:24 UTC
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PHILIPSBURG - Duck International has initiated a second court case against Joan Verwoord of Ms. B’s Restaurant in Oyster Bay to be heard in the Court of First Instance on Wednesday, January 25. The plaintiff is asking the court to evict Verwoord from the beach, which it claims to own.
The notice to appear in court was handed to Verwoord last week Friday, informing her that she was again being taken to court by Duck International in a bid to have her removed from the property where her restaurant has been for six years.
Verwoord was taken to court in August 2005 by the company, which claims it owns the land directly behind the restaurant, the beach surrounding area.
Duck International lost that case after the Court of First instance stated that the beaches were public property and as such could not be claimed by any individual or entity.
Duck International appealed that August 2005 verdict. The appeal is still pending. However, Verwoord said that while the appeal has not yet been handled by the court, Duck International had initiated a separate court case against her, making the same request for her to be evicted from “its” beach.
Attorney Melinda Hoeve is Verwoord’s legal representative. Hoeve says Duck International wants the same thing, which is to have Verwoord evicted. However, this time it claims that the Executive Council acted incorrectly when it issued the licence for Ms. B’s restaurant six years ago.
It appears the developers believe that Verwoord operating next to their multi-million-dollar Coral Beach Club project makes it difficult for them to sell condominiums that are close to the beach.
Verwoord said she believed that the process of dragging her to court each time is a ploy to harass her enough to convince her to give up. However, she says it’s ridiculous, as she does not claim to be the owner of the beach which, as far as she understands and the court has stated, “no one owns.”
The last time the two parties went to court a large group of the general public gathered outside the Courthouse on Front Street with placards in support of Ms. B’s. Following her victory, a “big beach bash” was held during which supporters from all over the island visited the beach and celebrated the win for the local businesswoman.
She said, “I want to invite the general public to support me, because it is not just a Ms. B’s thing we are trying to protect. This is about the public beaches in St. Maarten.”
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