15 Jun 2009

Samoa's Speaker facing multi million dollar lawsuit

7:16 am on 15 June 2009

Samoa's parliamentary speaker, Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Lei'ataua, is facing a 5 million US dollar lawsuit for damages filed by the Tautua Samoa party.

Tautua's nine MPs have lost their parliamentary seats for breaching standing orders by establishing a new political party.

The suit against the speaker is included in the party's motion seeking an injunction against the ruling last month.

The speaker also said the notification by the MP of Palauli

constituency, Toluono Feti, that he has resigned as a Tautua Samoa party supporter has been rejected because the Speaker had already announced his ruling.

Meanwhile the parliament will resume tomorrow to debate

the new financial year budget without the nine MPs of Tautua Samoa following the official declaration of their seats being vacant through a public notice published in the government Savali newspaper last week.