Jearlean in $17m lawsuit against HDC: 'I had to protect my reputation'

FIRED Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managing director Jearlean John on Wednesday denied she behaved in a hostile manner at a board meeting at which she and seven other senior managers were told they were being sent on administrative leave.

She also denied speaking in a hostile tone or being agitated at another meeting she was told to attend – the agenda for which, she said, she was not given beforehand. She said she was asked about the lease of a high-end luxury Mercedes Benz.

John has sued the HDC for $17 million for wrongful dismissal on March 22, 2016. She and seven others were sent on administrative leave on December 17, 2015, to facilitate an audit into the operations of the corporation.

John denied she was upset about being sent on leave, but questioned the “overall manner in which they proceeded with the exercise.” She said there was no mention in the minutes of the December meeting which spoke of the decision to initiate the audit, and this was only ratified in January 2016.

“I didn’t challenge the audit. They had a right to take any decision they took,” she said.

She even wrote to the independent external auditors expressing her concerns about their doing an audit because she felt it was proper to let them know they had not been properly engaged.

She did not see her doing so would have affected her relationship with the board, because she didn’t have a relationship with any of the members as she did not know them before December 17.

The trial of her claim began before Justice Kevin Ramcharan at the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, yesterday. She spent the entire day under cross-examination by the HDC’s lead counsel, Russell Martineau, SC.

John repeatedly insisted she was not upset about being fired, but was “very concerned” about her “formidable reputation” in business.

“The manner in which I was dismissed impacted my reputation. It was very damaging and that is what troubled me.”

She said it did not “vex” her that the board was going to do an audit. She said it was free to do what it had to, but she was more concerned about her reputation.

She also denied suggestions by Martineau that she was being “oversensitive” in her reaction.

Testifying specifically about the March 21 meeting, John denied treating HDC chairman Newman George with hostility or being agitated.

“I was puzzled, not agitated.”

She said she was concerned about the nature of the meeting and went into it tentatively, thinking “maybe something is up.”

She said she was questioned about the lease of the car and shown copies of invoices, but denied tossing them across the table or using a hostile tone when she told the board she never rented a Mercedes Benz for herself, and the car had been leased by the corporation, but not for her.

John also denied insulting the members or shouting at them nor, she said, was her behaviour at the meeting “unbearably rude and hostile,” as George claimed.

However, she did admit to telling them to continue with their "witch hunt," but denied adding, “You come with your scandal. I will come with mine.”

John is represented by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen, Umesh Maharaj and Dayadai Harripaul.

When the trial resumes on Thursday, George is expected to testify on behalf of the corporation.

Also representing the HDC are attorneys Marcelle Ferdinand and Anthony Bullock.