By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian attorney’s opposition to former clients bringing a counter-claim against her in the Supreme Court has been branded “incredible” by the Chief Justice.

Sir Ian Winder, in a July 3, 2025, verdict said Lisa Fox was in effective asserting that Sandra Fox and Dennis Fox “have no right” to make a legal claim to recover “substantial sums” that she purportedly deducted from a trust account to cover her legal fees.

Ms Fox, who last August denied misappropriating $129,061 from the Edith Glass Estate, for which Sandra and Dennis are trustees, when she was charged with stealing by reason of service, has hit back with a civil claim of her own for “breach of contract, false arrest and detention, defamation and payment of legal fees”.

The Paradise Island resident had launched her civil claim on July 11, 2024 - the same day that she was arrested following complaints to the police by Sandra and Dennis over the same alleged misappropriation of trust funds. The $129,061 cheque had been made payable to ‘The Edith Glass Trust, Dennis Fox and Sandra Fox TTEs’.

“The cheque came into the claimant’s [Ms Fox] possession in February 2022 as a result of her engagement by the Foxes,” Sir Ian noted. However, after filing a defence to Ms Fox’s claim, Dennis and Sandra, then sought the Supreme Court’s permission to launch a counter-claim against her and add CIBC Caribbean (Bahamas) as a defendant.

“As against CIBC Caribbean (Bahamas), the Foxes also seek to claim damages in the sum of $137,602,” the Chief Justice added. “They allege conversion of the cheque in the sum of $129,061 written to ‘’The Edith Glass Trust, Dennis Fox and Sandra Fox TTEs’ and as constructive trustee of the said cheque being the knowing recipient of trust property.

“The Foxes assert that the cheque was not endorsed to the claimant [Ms Fox], and that no permission was given to the claimant to deposit the cheque into her clients’ account. They allege that on February 10, 2022, the trust funds improperly cleared in the claimant law firm’s client account.”

Ms Fox, though, opposed the counterclaim application on the based that Dennis and Sandra had no standing to bring a claim. She added that the third defendant in the case, Brian Dean, and his brother, Ulysses, had been “given power of attorney over the funds by Edith Glass”. And she also objected to attorney Michelle Horton acting for Sandra and Dennis because she was a potential witness.

Sir Ian, though, found the objection to be invalid. He added that Jameca Basden, attorney for Brian Dean, supported the application by Sandra and Dennis and argued that “such power of attorney as her clients now possess did not preclude the recovery of funds by the Foxes”.

And the Chief Justice added: “It would be incredible that the claimant [Ms Fox] would purport to deduct substantial sums from the trust funds on account of her fees claimed against the Foxes but nonetheless assert that they have no right to make a claim to recover these funds.”

Sir Ian ruled that CIBC Caribbean (Bahamas) addition as a defendant was “desirable”, so as to avoid multiple proceedings and potentially “inconsistent judgments”, while it was “in the interest of justice” that Sandra and Dennis be able to pursue their counter-claim.