A $1.3 billion lawsuit filed by La Brea-based contractor Namalco against the Estate Management and Business Development Company (EMBD) for work done on four development projects finally got off the ground yesterday after a series of legal hurdles.
Namalco is seeking payments approved by EMBD engineers but the State company contends that there were insufficient supporting documents to substantiate its claims.
EMBD further counter-claimed that Namalco was “reckless” in its application for payment as the contractor made claims which were inaccurate and inflated.
The case has been described as one of the largest civil claims filed by a local contractor in T&T and close to 500,000 pages of evidence and other supporting documents have been tendered into evidence.
The case is being heard by Justice Ricky Rahim in the Port-of-Spain Second Civil Court, at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain. The evidence and submissions are likely to be wrapped up by the end of the month.
“Nothing, in this case, appears to be small, including the relief,” said Justice Rahim as Davis handed over a bundle of documents to the witness on the stand as he began his cross-examination.
Namalco’s project director Lenny Sookram, the first witness to testify, repeatedly denied the suggestions made by one of EMBD’s attorneys, Jonathan Davis QC, that Namalco was trying to recover money to which it was not entitled.
Sookram maintained that Namalco was entitled to the sums being claimed under the contractual agreement with EMBD.
Davis referred to several instances where varying sums were claimed for work done and pointed out to significant reductions after engineers examined the job site to support his position that Namalco inflated its bill.
Sookram said during the project, work had to be done at a reduced rate as payment came in “drip, drip” and when the funds depleted the projects almost ground to a halt. He said Namalco claims included payment for downtime on equipment and delays in completing the project on time because of timely payment by EMBD.
In opening Namalco’s case lead attorney Alvin Fitzpatrick SC said the claim centres around work done by his client on four building projects at - Cedar Hill, Roopsingh Road, Petite Morne and Picton.
The contractor claims it was retained to develop roads, install sewer lines, box drains, detention ponds, kerbs, culverts, grading and earthworks at those sites.
Fitzpatrick in reply to the EMBD’s defence said the market value of Namalco’s work also substantiated the company’s claim.
The trial continues today as Sookram returns to the witness stand to be further cross-examination.
More on the matter:
Namalco is one of the five contractors named in the Government’s $200 million cartel claim over contracts awarded in the run-up to the 2015 general election by the former People’s Partnership administration.
The contractor is seeking to have that case struck out before it even goes to trial on the basis that it was speculative and lacked any concrete evidence.
But even in the face of that lawsuit and criticism on the political platform, the contractor has been awarded four contracts for the completion of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin by the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Nidco) under the PNM administration.
The cartel claim centres around 10 contracts for rehabilitation of roads on lands belonging to the former Caroni (1975) Ltd, which were granted to five contractors in September 2015.
Besides Namalco, the other contractors listed Fides, TN Ramnauth and Company Ltd (TN Ramnauth), Mootilal Ramhit and Sons Contracting Ltd (Ramhit) and Kall Company Ltd (Kallco).
Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, former EMBD CEO Gary Parmassar, former divisional managers Madhoo Balroop and Andrew Walker are listed as parties to the claim along with the contractors.
The claim was filed in October 2017, after Namalco sued EMBD over its failure to compensate the company for six contracts, valued at $1.3 bn, including two of which fell under cartel claim.
Namalco’s lawsuit was split in two—its claim over the two cartel contracts stayed, while its claims for payment for four other contracts was listed for trial before Justice Rahim.