Judge says TDC unfair

THERE were no winners in a claim for damages by founder of the TT BMX Freestyle Association Trevlon Hall against the Tourism Development Company (TDC), although a High Court judge last week dismissed Hall’s lawsuit.

Justice Ricky Rahim, who ordered that each party pay its own legal costs, said the evidence before him “smacks of unfairness” to Hall in that it appeared that he was used and then discarded.

The judge also found that the TDC, and its then sports coordinator Samuel Sankar, “fell well below the standard to be expected of persons and institutions in whom both the public has confidence and whom the government of the day trusts to implement its policy towards the improvement of the life of its citizens whether in sport or otherwise.”

Rahim also found that Hall must also bear some responsibility for his actions as he was fully aware of the process for approval for sponsorship of an event held at the Jean Pierre Complex in April 2014.

In his ruling, Rahim said Hall failed to exercise vigilance in ensuring that he obtained the approval from the right source prior to advertising the prize money. “He has since suffered the consequences of his error in judgment by way of the injury to his reputation as disclosed by the evidence.”

Hall sought compensation for breach of contract, claiming that the TDC agreed to sponsor the prize money in the sum of US$86,000.

The prize money was never provided and prizes due to the winners are still outstanding.

In its defence, the TDC argued that Sankar, who was the liaison between Hall and the TDC, did not have the authority to bind the company to a contractual agreement in the absence of a written agreement.

Rahim said on an analysis of the evidence, he found that Sankar both verbally and by his actions, which included text messages with Hall, led him to believe that the TDC would eventually provide sponsorship for the 2014 event.

He, however, also found that Hall must have understood that payment would be forthcoming once it was approved by the TDC board, and he, at that time, did not yet receive a written contract as was the case with past events.

“It is clear that Sankar took the claimant for a ride (pun intended). Sankar was aware that the defendant had not approved any funds for sponsorship but nonetheless went on about the business of pretending that the defendant was a sponsor of the international event and that funds would eventually be approved for payment of prize money as a matter of course,” Rahim said.