00:00The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, affirming the decisions of the High Court
00:05and the Court of Appeal, made it crystal clear that there was no evidence produced by EMBD
00:11to show that there was any fraud committed by the contractor.
00:15Senior counsel and former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence-Moraj, speaking on behalf
00:19of his clients during a virtual media conference on Tuesday, following the ruling by the Privy
00:24Council in the matter of the Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited,
00:30the EMBD, versus Junior Sammy Contractors Limited.
00:33The Privy Council, which is based in London, is Trinidad and Tobago's highest court of
00:38appeal.
00:39This decision of the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Judicial Committee of the
00:44Privy Council has totally vindicated the reputation of both Mr. Junior Sammy and his company,
00:51Junior Sammy Contractors Limited, in a claim in which EMBD alleged fraud against them.
00:59The Privy Council held that the allegations made by EMBD of fraud in its defense had no
01:06substance.
01:07The matter involved a contract entered into on February 4, 2015, in which Junior Sammy
01:13Contractors agreed to carry out residential infrastructure works for the EMBD for the
01:18contract sum of $TT$231.2 million at a site known as the Karany Savannah Residential Development
01:27Phase B.
01:29On December 20, 2018, the contractor, Junior Sammy Contractors Limited, commenced proceedings
01:35in the High Court to recover $TT$82.8 million from the employer, the EMBD, comprising $TT$77.6
01:45million and $TT$5.145 million in relation to the failure to release the outstanding
01:53retention.
01:54The Council noted that Junior Sammy Contractors also claimed interest on the total unpaid
01:59sum claimed.
02:00The Privy Council ruled on Tuesday that the employer, EMBD, has failed to demonstrate
02:06that the potential defenses of abatement or fraud are more than fanciful or speculative.
02:11The Privy Council also ruled that the application for specific disclosure is a fishing expedition
02:17which amounts to no more than a hope that something might turn up.
02:21The Law Lords in London ruled that the contractor, Junior Sammy Contractors Limited, is entitled
02:27to sue the employer for $TT$77.6 million and that, accordingly, the lower courts correctly
02:35entered summary judgment in favor of the contractor in the amount of $TT$82.8 million.
03:04The Privy Council ruled that the appeal filed by the EMBD is dismissed and that the order
03:09of the judge is affirmed.
03:11Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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