Cepep defends right to pursue claim against Moonilal

The company has challenged a judge’s decision to throw out its counter-claim against Moonilal who first sued the state agency for defamation.

In arguments before Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Prakash Moosai and Andre des Vignes, the company’s lead attorney Elton Prescott SC said the judge did not address his mind to his client’s counter-claim when he threw out the action and instead disproportionately focussed on “how much money it was getting” in annual budgetary allocations.

He also submitted that the issue of whether the company was a government agency, as determined by the judge, or was a publicly traded company, as it contends, should have gone to trial.

“The focus on how much money was given to the Cepep Company was just short of a political inquiry,” Prescott said as he pointed to legal authorities which state that governmental agencies can defend itself against malicious falsehoods.

“The Cepep Company has a right to sue for malicious falsehoods,” Prescott maintained, adding that it should also be protected by the laws of defamation.

The judges’ ruling on the appeal will be delivered on a date to be fixed as they reserved their judgment.

In a written judgment, Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, in January, held that the Cepep Company was restricted from suing a member of the public based on the principle that a government body should be open to inhibited public criticisms.

He said CEPEP’s best defence to public criticisms would be to be transparent and straightforward in the information it provides to the public. The judge said, in this case, limited restriction on CEPEP was justified to ensure there was freedom to ask questions about its resources and criticise how these funds were being used. Moonilal’s attorneys had asked that CEPEP’s counter- claim struck out.

Moonilal’s claim for defamation was filed after the CEPEP company issued a full-page statement in the press on August 24, 2016, in which it alleged misappropriation of $39.6 million in funds for construction projects in his Oropouche East constituency.

Also appearing for the CEPEP Company were attorneys Phillip Lamont and Farai Hove Masaisai while attorneys Larry Lalla represented Moonilal.