Grande Contractor awarded $3.3M in lawsuit

Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh made the award to Eastern Engineering and Marketing Services who filed a lawsuit seeking outstanding payment for work done.

Eastern Engineering had entered into separate contracts to provide services for SAUTT, which included the extension of a multi-purpose building at Camp Cumuto in 2008, provision of aggregate in 2009, as well as civil engineering and geo technical work in 2010, for a total of $11 million. The contracting firm was paid a portion of the sum owed, but up to 2012 when it filed its claim, it was still owed $3.3 million.

In an oral judgment yesterday, Boodoosingh noted that the State made “extraordinary assertions” in its defence that required evidence.

It was the State’s contention that SAUTT was not a legal entity and did not have the authority to make contracts or enter into contractual obligations on behalf of the State in any way. It was also denied that SAUTT had the authority to act on behalf of the Ministry of National Security nor was it admitted that the persons with whom Eastern Engineering was contracted, had the power to enter into any agreement and called on the engineering firm to prove its case at trial.

But Boodoosingh noted that the evidence supplied by Eastern Engineering to support its claim, which included copies of cheques paid to it and invoices sent to SAUTT, was proper and fitting to grant judgment at the pre-trial stage of the case as the State failed to substantiate its defence.

Boodoosingh said it could not be that SAUTT did not have the capacity to enter into contracts as it was utilising State funds.

SAUTT was established by the Patrick Manning regime in November 2003 and disbanded in August 2011 under the People’s Partnership government.