ADDA COURT AWARD ELUSIVE

The Tobago House of Assembly is consulting with the Attorney General with respect to its so far failed, exhaustive efforts to collect the United States court ordered award in the infamous ADDA US$2 million “in-vestment.”

That was the word Thursday from THA Chief Secretary Orville London. London stressed that contrary to claims made by persons whom he accused of “misleading” Tobag-onians, the THA has not been able to recover any part of the money awarded by a US court in compensation to the THA as a result of the failed, so-called ADDA investment deal in which the previous Hochoy Charles-led THA administration was involved. The settlement was awarded by the court when it gave judgment in favour of the THA following legal action taken by the previous Assembly. The THA Chief Secretary noted that the THA has been silent on the matter and people in certain quarters were using this silence to mislead the people of Tobago. He said the Assem-bly was now forced to review the matter and decide whether it should terminate the issue or continue to expend public funds in mounting legal fees in pursuit of what appeared to be a lost cause.  London said to date, despite extensive efforts, the respondents (defendants) in the matter, the persons who have been ordered by the court to pay the award, or their “as-sets,” cannot or have not been located by the THA’s attorneys in the US. He said this was explained in a letter dated October 28 from Holland and Knight, the US law firm representing the THA in the matter from inception of the court action in 1998/1999.

The letter was in response to the Assembly’s queries on the status of the matter in a letter dated September 22 to Holland and Knight, London told reporters at Thurs-day’s post-Executive Council meeting press briefing. He said the THA specifically wanted to know what steps had been taken to secure a settlement; whether any of the four respondents/debtors named in the judgement – David Armstrong, Global International Incorporated, Liberty Investments, and Allan D’Arcy – had been located; and whether any assets and or property available to meet the judgment debt had been repossessed (on behalf of the THA). He stressed that Holland and Knight were the “THA’s lawyers” and not the “current Assembly’s lawyers,” as “this law firm has been associated with the case and with the Assembly long be-fore we came in. So I don’t think their bona fides can in any way be undermined,” he asserted.

According to London, Holland and Knight in their letter (from which he quoted), stated: “…In short we have made numerous efforts to locate the debtors, and more importantly to identify any assets the debtors possessed. Our efforts were directed at discovering where, if anywhere, the debtors’ assets may be. As described in greater detail below, we have had limited success in locating the debtors. “Unfortunately these individuals have not been forthcoming about the location of any assets they have. Further, if they control any assets, we would recommend that we seize those assets in satisfaction of the judgment rather than negotiate with the debtors.” London said Hol-land and Knight, in the letter, further indicated that the deposition of one of the parties was “unrevealing” and described this person as “an obstreperous witness. He refused to answer a number of questions on the ground that the information we sought was private; he maintained that he did not receive any of the money invested by Tobago,” claimed the law firm.