NASSAU, BAHAMAS – An application has been submitted to the Supreme Court seeking the imprisonment of prominent attorney and former Supreme Court judge, Elliot Lockhart, KC, for failing to return over $3 million to a former client.
This follows the Court’s approval on September 25th for the former client to apply for an Order to commit Lockhart, KC, to the Bahamas Department of Corrections regarding this matter.
On October 11th, the court granted summary judgment against Lockhart, KC, the Principal of Lockhart & Co., thereby ordering the return of the funds.
The Court is set to hear the application to incarcerate the former judge and Member of Parliament on February 27, 2024, as the funds remain unrecovered in defiance of the Court’s order.
Summary Judgment was issued by the Court, satisfied that Lockhart, KC, had no defense to the action.
Separate applications for Judgment in Default and an order of committal to the Bahamas Department of Corrections have been filed against Patricia Bullard, an administrator at Lockhart & Co. and the third named Defendant in the matter. The default judgment against Bullard was granted on December 7, 2023. In an affidavit, Lockhart claimed he attempted to send the claimant’s money via cheque but failed due to an inadvertently incorrect date. Transfer attempts also failed, however CIBC First Caribbean International Bank informed the court that it had no records of accounts for Patricia A. Bullard and never received instructions from Lockhart to wire the $3 million sum.
Before this, on September 13, 2023, the court ordered the freezing of bank accounts associated with the firm, as well as those of Lockhart and Bullard, until they could account for the disputed funds.
The client, Dr. Paul Fuchs, a Florida resident has sought the return of his funds since April 2023. Lockhart over a five-decade legal career has also served as a Justice of the Supreme Court and Member of Parliament for the Exuma constituency. He has additionally held positions as chairman of Nassau Flight Services, chairman of the Gaming Board of the Bahamas, and as counsel of the Disciplinary Tribunal of The Bahamas Bar Association.
