Judge hears application to freeze football body’s account

Coming up for hearing before Justice Frank Seepersad in the San Fernando High Court was a Garnishee application in which the TT FF is named as judgment debtor for $1.2 million. In the application, Warner’s former personal assistant Imammuddin Baksh is asking the Court to freeze the TT FF’s bank account at First Citizens, so as to recover the sum on a judgment he had obtained last year which was delivered by the judge.

Yesterday, Justice Seepersad urged the parties to settle before the Court moves to freeze the First Citizens account.

It was in April 2015 when Justice Seepersad had delivered a ruling in which he found the TT FF and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 2010 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, liable to Baksh on behalf of the latter’s company - Graphix Advantage Limited (GAL), for the sum of $1,262,413.19. Baksh is GAL’s managing director and had sued TT FF, Warner and LOC South Africa 2010 Limited, for the monies.

Baksh had contended that the monies were owing to his company for advertising goods and services he provided for the staging of the World Cup event.

Justice Seepersad conducted a trial in which Warner had given evidence and the judge, in a written ruling, found the TT FF and LOC South Africa 2010 Limited liable to pay the monies to GAL.

The judge, however, ruled that Warner, who was special adviser to the TT FF and chairman of LOC South Africa 2010 Limited, was not personally liable to pay the monies.

Since Justice Seepersad’s judgment on April 30 2015, the monies have not been paid to GAL.

And, on November 1, attorneys for Baksh filed a Garnishee application to freeze one of the bank accounts of the TT FF and LOC South Africa 2010 Limited, at First Citizens.

A Garnishee application is a drastic measure that is taken in order to collect a debt, in which the applicant applies to a judge to make an Order to take the property of the one who is owing a debt on a judgment.

The application filed by Baksh’s attorney Hendrickson Seunath SC, stated that pursuant to Justice Seepersad’s judgment in April, the judgment creditor (GAL), had obtained judgment against the judgment debtor, Austin Jack Warner and LOC South Africa 2010 Limited.

In Justice Seepersad’s judgment, however, though he held that Warner was responsible for giving out the contract to GAL on behalf of the TT FF and LOC, Warner was not personally liable to pay the monies and therefore there was no judgment against him.

Baksh who signed the Garnishee application on his company’s behalf, stated that he is also seeking $122,120.66 in legal cost which had not been paid since the judgment was delivered.

He stated that TT FF and LOC maintain a bank account at the Park and Henry Streets, Port of Spain branch of First Citizens, where a chequing account is held.

The application came up for hearing in the San Fernando High Court yesterday before Justice Seepersad where attorneys for the TT FF and First Citizens told the judge that they needed an opportunity to hold discussions with Baksh’s attorneys. Attorneys for the bank indicated that they would comply with any order the cout makes.

The judge urged the parties to discuss the matter and arrive at a settlement by January 12 2017