The Rennie's Mill legal saga ends today after more than 500 applications for compensation in the past two months. Mr Justice Sears ruled in 1996 that residents of the former Nationalist stronghold were entitled to payouts. This sparked a string of new cases by mainly elderly people who claimed the Housing Authority had either wrongly refused to pay them, or had not paid them enough. An army of ex-residents descended on the Court of First Instance in September and staged a rowdy protest when initial claims for billions of dollars were rejected. The community had been built by the villagers almost 50 years ago, but was cleared by the Government for development in 1995. Former residents crowded into court on a daily basis to challenge the decision. Mr Justice Sears said he often had to play detective in order to rule who qualified. Only 27 have been successful so far. The hearings were public in the true sense of the word, with applicants often raising a hand to let the judge know they wanted to make a claim. The final two applications, from ex-residents wanting more money, will be heard today. 'After that, I won't hear any more Rennie's Mill cases,' the judge said yesterday.
