By Rickie Ramdass

Copyright trinidadexpress

THE Estate Management and Business Development Company (EMBD) has been denied a three-month extension to file replies in a series of lawsuits involving alleged breaches of contract and manipulation for personal gain.

In a decision delivered on Wednesday, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that the company’s application to vary a previously set case management conference (CMC) order was not justified.

The judge emphasised that after eight years of litigation, there will be a “no tolerance approach to delay”. He stated that the court’s process would not be manipulated to avoid an efficient and timely resolution of the matters.

Justice Seepersad noted that the lawsuits, known as the “cartel claim” which raise important issues of accountability, transparency, and the protection of the public purse, have made very little progress since they were first filed in 2017.

At a CMC on June 17, the court had already given EMBD approximately two and a half months to file its replies, which Justice Seepersad considered a “fairly generous” timeline.

He also acknowledged the recent change in EMBD’s political directorate and the appointment of a new board but noted that the law governing the filing of replies is “settled and straightforward”.

“A review of the pleadings demonstrate that these matters raise novel and critical issues, but they are not overly complicated.

“In essence, they concern alleged breaches of contract and an alleged manipulation of process for personal gain.

“The evidence which underlie the claims must have been unearthed and evaluated prior to the institution of the claims in 2017 and 2019 respectively, and the decision to commence litigation ought to have been documented by EMBD’s Board at the material times,” said the judge.

EMBD’s application, filed on September 12, sought to extend the deadline for filing replies to December 12, with responses due by January 30.

The company’s legal team, led by Andrew Hunter KC and Jason Mootoo SC, was represented by Savitri Sookraj-Beharry, who filed an affidavit in support of the application.

The defendants, including TN Ramnauth and Company Ltd, Kall Co Ltd, Mootilal Ramhit & Sons Contracting Ltd, Fides Ltd, and Namalco Construction Services Ltd, were represented by Fyard Hosein SC and Aadam Hosein.

In his decision, Justice Seepersad stated that while the court has an “unfettered discretion” to vary a timetable, it must do so in a manner that “advances the overriding objective” of dealing with cases justly and expeditiously.

He cited an observation from Dick Greenslade’s 1998 work, “Judicial Sector Reform Project: Review of Civil Procedure,” which stated that delays of “up to ten years are far from uncommon” in Trinidad and Tobago and should not be tolerated.

Justice Seepersad said that any acquiescence to the three-month extension would create the kind of delay that the Civil Proceedings Rules (CPR) sought to eradicate.

He concluded by shortening EMBD’s requested extension, ordering the company to file its draft replies by October 31, with responses from the five corporate defendants due by November 20.

In the event of default, the matters will proceed without replies and the pleadings will be deemed closed.

Also named as defendants in the claim are former housing minister and current Energy Minister Dr. Roodal Moonilal, former EMBD CEO Gary Parmassar, and former divisional managers Madhoo Balroop and Andrew Walker.