Willock asks court to discontinue case against Vanterpool
Speaker of the House Julian Willock has asked the High Court to discontinue his case against member-elect of the Fourth District Mark Vanterpool.
According to a court document seen by our news centre, the written request was dated Monday, June 17.
This date falls within 24 hours of Premier Andrew Fahie’s public statement that he has asked the Speaker to swear Vanterpool into the House of Assembly.
When BVI News contacted the Speaker on Thursday morning, he declined to comment.
While Willock remains mum, his letter might be an indication that he plans to swear in Vanterpool.
History of the case
Vanterpool had submitted a resignation letter addressed to the Clerk of the House shortly after being re-elected into office. He changed his mind days after learning that his letter had to be addressed to the Speaker of the House in order for the resignation to be valid.
Willock, however, said he ‘accepted’ Vanterpool’s resignation and refused to swear in the member-elect. Vanterpool later took the matter to court who ruled in his favour. However, Willock filed an appeal to overturn the ruling. That appeal was still before the court when the Premier asked him to swear in Vanterpool.
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Poppy show!
I agree that Mark has made a poppy show of the people in the 4th district.
Who to blame all of us make mistakes Willock is always a diehard v.i.p we all know he needs to pay the court fees
What a waste of time and money Marcus & Wiglock. Let get to work so we can get some answers
Where is the whistleblower legislation?
Mark needs his share of the blame but Willox, excuse me, Hon. Willox covering for the Premier let this go on for too long. Now we see the Premier and Willox with their tails between their legs. What a sight.
I see that Mark has made a mockery of the people’s trust
I must say that those prayers and consultations worked big time
The speaker flopped, back-peddled, backed down etc etc……….Bottom-line he is SOFT !!!!!!!!!!
He need to take his wig and go sit down??Bye
YOU ALL LIKE TO MUCH DAMM DISCORD IN THIS PLACE. KNOWING HIS POSITION IT TAKES A BIGGER MAN TO NOW DO THIS.
Our boy willock will now gain back the public’s trust
All because of ego.
You mean all because of Mark.
WE LUV U MR SPEAKER
that is your d opinion mark is the winner give Jack his jacket the 4th district man he cannot b replaced
Forget who is winner, this place needs to move forward. I am so sick and fed up of all who continue to chant disunity. It makes me want to DENOUNCE MY RACE.
Who we? You mean Wiglock love himself.
So Willock caved like a man without a spine after costing taxpayers thousands of dollars and standing on “principle” for so long. It should be pointed out that the Court ruled against and would likely have ruled against him again. All this only to cave at the end. Shame on you Willock !
The only person responsible for wasting our tax dollars is Mark Vanterpool. In my book he bears the blame for all this madness taking place. Remember people: Every Action Creates and Reaction. Sometime it may not be what we anticipate or expect to happen.
Shame on Willock for what? Recognizing that the Territory really needs to move forward, and this matter is dragging on too long. Shame for stretching out this HATE in this little island. Shame for putting an end to more money wasting. You need to be ashamed for talking P**s.
But wait, Myron and crew have all day in them office now to blog c**p.
VIP in power so please take a rest and catch up on your sleeplessness. ??????
This dragged on too long and cost taxpayers unnecessarily. Premier did not ask that Mark be sworn in he was advised by FCO and Governor to instruct the SOH to swear in Mark. That’s why Claude came on talking about Mark needs to be sworn in they knew instructions were given by the FCO to do such. Premier, SOH and Mark are all to be blamed some what for this as it didn’t need to reach this far.
BS!!! The UK has no power over any matters in the HOA. If the governor had any say Mark would have been sworn in months ago as the matter was in the governor’s hand from the beginning when Willock advised him the seat was vacant. After the Governor was advised by the AG that the resignation was not valid if the Governor had any power over the HOA he would have done something from that day. Only the Speaker could have ended this ordeal.
You lack knowledge. GOVERNOR DOES HAVE THE POWER TO EXERCISE HE CHOSE NOT TO INTERFERE! Learn the differences. Same one who called state of emergency and dissolved the government after the hurricane. The Governor just letting y’all handle y’all own affairs and not micromanage it.
Hmmm
Mother watching us.
Let us move this country forward.
We are all one under god. Let us work together to make this place a better .
Just remember that our creator is also watching.
Discontinuing a case or settling out of court is sometimes necessary to save time and money. It does not mean that the case was destined for failure. I’m sure Mark agrees with the decision as prolonging the matter was taking up his time and lawyers fees are not free. Every time you enter the courthouse your lawyer gets paid. Big companies use legal maneuvering all the time to force victims to go bankrupt paying legal fees by the time they reach a settlement they’re broke and are happy to take a fraction of what they should have got.
Willock is a punk he is soft he cannot stand up to fahie
YOUR ALL LIKE TO MUCH DAMM DISCORD IN THIS PLACE. KNOWING HIS POSITION IT TAKES A BIGGER MAN TO NOW DO THIS.
Mark in Mark out the election objective met, NDP gone! Funny man gone! and VIP all the way
It is amazing how persons have Mark as the innocent one in this fiasco.
It really is amazing. He created all the confusion but some how his supporters and the supporters of the NDP blames everyone else. Meanwhile others getting bad names.
This is not about having Mark as an innocent bystander.
–If you go got assigned in your job to a post in your company’s overseas office (One)
— Addressed your non-acceptance of the position to your employer’s secretary due to personal reasons (TWO)
— Received a letter from your employer’s secretary that the letter should be addressed to your employer and not them as secretary (THREE)
— Decided to write a letter advising that you would not move forward with your decision of not accepting the position overseas (FOUR)
— Checked your Employee Contract/Handbook, which states the employer must be addressed in writing on matters regarding your employment
— HOW CAN THE SPEAKER EXPECT HE WOULD HAVE MADE A CASE AGAINST MARK
— THAT IS A MATTER OF REVISITING THE CONSTITUTION AS SIMILARLY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MATTER OF THE EMPLOYER UPDATING THEIR EMPLOYEE CONTRACT/HANDBOOK TO ADDRESS ALTERNATE MEANS OF COMMUNICATING THE STATUS OF A POSITION.
Using your example, Don’t forget that Mark did not show up to the job on the first day. He didn’t call in sick either so he would be on what employers call an unpaid leave and multiple absences would be liable for termination.
Using the example, the Labour Code and an Employment Contract would state the number of warnings, which should first be given before termination of employment.
Likewise, Section 67 (3) of the Constution refers:
An elected member of the House of Assembly shall also vacate his or her seat in the House—
* (a) if he or she resigns it by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Speaker;
* (b) if he or she is absent from the sittings of the House for such period and in such circumstances as may be prescribed in the Standing Orders of the House;
Section 84 of the Standing Order refers:
“(2) A Member of the House shall vacate his seat, if the Member in any one Session is absent from the House for more than three consecutive sittings without the written leave of the Speaker.”
Mark did present himself to be sworn in within the aforesaid timeframe.
“Vanterpool’s resignation letter was submitted to the clerk on March 5, days before a Speaker was appointed.” (There was no speaker and HOA was not in session since elections).
“The Speaker, who was subsequently elected, wrote to me in a letter dated 13th March 2019 — received by me 14th March 2019 — pointing out that my resignation letter had to be addressed to ‘the Speaker’. His letter further stated that he accepted my resignation,” Vanterpool explained in media statement on Thursday. (The speaker broke the rules by overstepping and not following protocol after advising Mark to follow protocol).
“However, since I did not write to him originally, today, 14th March 2019 in a letter addressed to ‘the Speaker’, I advised him that I wish to be sworn in at his earliest convenience as the representative for the Fourth District as declared by the Supervisor of Elections on the 25th February 2019.”
Mark was awaiting the Speaker’s feedback.
People who marched and protest were concerned about Mark being swear in to the House but have not held him responsible for his actions that caused this and they were not this concern when he & his ndp wasted millions of our tax dollars. Now they are concern about the cost of this case to tax payers. What hypocrites.
All who crying for Mark to be swear in are the ones who miss his $$$$
What u think politics about, its all about money idi..ot
Politics is not all about money. Some politicians actually care about the country. It is mostly the constituents that care about money and things they can get from politicians. If a lot of these politicians were hired by the constituents in a private capacity they would have been fired long time for not completing the job properly. When your hair dresser or barber mess up your hair you find another one but when politicians overspend and spend money foolishly we reward them because they are our friends or they do personal favors.
The Ministry of Communications and Works have the most complaints of any ministry in the BVI.
Drivers have been complaining daily about the poor quality of the roads. Potholes are filled and repaved constantly.
The internet service is among the slowest and worst in the world at some of the highest prices in the world.
Water delivery comes and go constantly every day where some people have to wake up 5am just to catch a pail of water like Jack and Jill.
Power comes and go monthly with a multitude of different excuses why the power was down.
Sewage overspill is accepted as normal in Road Town, our capital. The place where tourist frequently walk the street during cruise season. Nobody is surprised when the sewage overflows but in most parts of the world that is a rare sight just like a power outage.
The major flooding that we had just before Irma and other times of the year is a result of blocked drains that are not properly managed and kept clear throughout the year. When the rain falls and the water start to flow it has no where to go. All of this is the portfolio of the ministry of C&W.
Road Town does not look (or smell) like a capital that we should be proud of.
Why in the world is the Minister that was responsible for so many failures rewarded so many times. Mark is a good man, A nice man, a people’s man but he is also a minister that failed at his job terribly but the constituents that got contracting jobs, household items or even a drink at the bar overlook the failures hoping to be rewarded for their votes.
Willfrock Yuh loose the battle big time
Good going Mr. Speaker. You adhered to the advice of the Premier, you didn’t have to but you did. Let’s move on with the development of our territory. Don’t mind the naysayers. You’ll be damned if you do and and you’ll be damned if you do not. Let this be a lesson to always strive for what is best for the territory as a whole.
I bet others will think twice before they do what Mark did.
After we were so close to the appeal being heard why they discontinue the case? Is Vertas Law a BVI law firm?? Is that notice of discontinuance even valid?
the power was with the speaker, but he is wise and at this time did the right thing
Mark need to be in jail if you ask me
MR. SPEAKER. After this, U control your house by yourself. Don’t try pleasing anyone. U will never win. Because now, people still here complaining.
From now on, U don’t give a f**k what we outside say. Only God U have to answer to.
We move on. U still will be a great Speaker once U acknowledge that U have to stand alone. Don’t listen to nobody.
Tbis will be another learning experience.
andrew runs the show….willock runs his mouth
It is time to stop throwing all the blame on the speaker.I voted for Mark and I was disapointed with the move Mark made. He said it was personal but he could have at least let the people of D4 knew something instead of leaving us out in the dust without an explanation. Don’t just be quick to jump on Mark’s side because you like him.See it for what it is, Mark is just as responsible for what is going on. I am So over it that I am planning to relocate to another District near the water.
Finally, common sense has prevailed. Credit for saving further court costs. Shame for dragging alone this fiasco for so long!
YYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!
HONOURABLE VANTERPOOL IS BACK!
Yay-ya!!
And all, with the blessings of the “fourth”!
It was about time that Honourable Vanterpool was allowed to get back about the business of the people from which he was so painstakingly denied for so long!
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaaaaccckkk!
YYYYAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!
Not a fan of the speaker but this is a boss move. Now things can move on and it shows respect for the Premier….Were they smart enough to set it up this way?…..lol