Lawyers for EMBD, contractors summoned to Appeal Court

Attorneys have been called to a hearing of the Court of Appeal in the appeal over the Estate Management Business Development Company Ltd's multi-million-dollar cartel claim lawsuit against a group of contractors and a former government minister.

Newsday understands the hearing comes after both the Prime Minister and former UNC minister Dr Roodal Moonilal made statements on the matter.

At a media conference on June 12, Dr Rowley spoke of the EMBD appeal.

He is reported as saying, “The judge ruled…that they must put in a defence.

"To this day, none of them has put in a defence. So while Mr (sic) Moonilal is frothing about $3.4 million for the Caricom (crime) symposium, he has a defence to put in the court to account for hundreds of millions of dollars that contractors were facilitated with under his portfolio to the extent where he is a defendant in the court.”

Rowley also alleged that the Appeal Court ruled in favour of EMBD and “as we stand here now, Mr (sic) Moonilal and others have to put in a defence in the court to this claim for the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Two days later, Moonilal addressed the PM’s claims in a statement to the media and also at a political meeting.

He said there was no decision by the Appeal Court nor did he have any hesitation over filing a defence.

He also called on the Prime Minister to respect the Judiciary, and questioned the Prime Minister’s knowledge of the outcome of the appeal, asking questions of his own.

On May 26, Justices of Appeal Nolan Bereaux, Mark Mohammed and Maria Wilson reserved their decision on an appeal by four of the contractors against a judge’s preliminary ruling in August 2020, which gave the EMBD the green light to pursue its claim.

In August 2020, Justice James Aboud dismissed preliminary applications by the five contractors – TN Ramnauth, Namalco, Kallco, Motilal Ramhit and Co and Fides Ltd – for the EMBD detail the allegations against them so that they could fairly mount their defence or strike out the claims. Aboud also had before him EMBD’s lawsuit against Moonilal, as well as a consolidated case in which three companies sued EMBD over unpaid contracts for upgrading and rehabilitating access roads on Caroni lands and two contracts for rehabilitation works, totalling over $300 million.

The EMBD claims the work done was defective and overpriced. In a counter-suit, the state entity is seeking to recoup money paid to the contractors.

The EMBD’s claim against Moonilal also includes former EMBD chief executive Gary Parmassar; former divisional manager at EMBD Madhoo Balroop; Andrew Walker; and companies Fides Ltd, Namalco Construction and LCB Contractors.

The judges reserved their ruling to June 30.

Also at the hearing of the appeal, those parties which did not appeal Aboud’s ruling – everyone other than Ramhit, Fides and Kallco – had agreed to file their defences 45 days after the court rules, based on the outcome of the appeal.

Notices for Friday's hearing were sent out on Wednesday.