An appeal against a district court’s decision to evict over 11,000 settlers from Morata one in Port Moresby has been fixed for hearing next month.
Filed in the Supreme Court by the Morata New Block Community and Welfare Association on 30 November 2016, the appeal was supposed to be heard in October last year.
The trial did not eventuate but has now been set for February 14, 2018.
Chairman of the Morata New Block Community and Welfare Association, Romny Tengere, went before the Waigani National Court today with an urgent application.
He was trying to ask the court to vary the blanket stay order that was issued early last year against the eviction of other settlers, who are not parties to the case.
However, the application could not be heard because the association’s lawyer is yet to obtain his 2018 practicing certificate.
The Port Moresby District Court on 23 November, 2016, ordered the eviction of the settlers from land portion 2733.
Aggrieved against the decision, they filed an appeal on 30 November 2016. They allege that no proper land survey was carried out prior to the land title being issued to the developer.
The eviction has been stayed by the Supreme Court since 17 February 2017.