City stores to pay $1m in legal fees

ABOUT 70 businesses in Port-of-Spain lost more than $100 million in the 1990 attempted coup. None of them ever received compensation. More than 100 writs were filed against insurance companies for failure to pay compensation for the losses incurred. There was a test case brought in the High Court by the Downtown Owners and Merchants’ Association (DOMA) which they lost. The other writs were left in abeyance without being formally withdrawn. Now, these businesses have suffered another blow. The insurance companies are now demanding that each of the businesses (some of whom filed three and four writs) pay $15,000 in legal fees for each writ filed. This amounts to more than $1 million.

DOMA President Gregory Aboud told Newsday last night that a lot of its members are very upset by the latest move. “It is unfortunate that this has had to happen this way. What this does is to awaken bad memories of July 1990 when we suffered these enormous losses through an act of terrorism.” Aboud said most of the businesses who suffered losses in 1990 were still repaying loans acquired to re-build. Several of them, according to the DOMA president, had to file for bankruptcy because the events of 1990 knocked them out. “It is really unfortunate, because instead of closing the door on the events of 1990, we continue to keep it open and remember these bad memories.” Aboud said that DOMA will hold a meeting at City Hall, Port-of-Spain, on Wednesday to update members of the latest decision of the insurance companies to seek legal fees arising from all the court actions taken.

Aboud said that following the events of 1990, the affected businesses filed claims with various insurance companies seeking compensation of more than $100 million. But the insurance companies refused to pay because the businesses were not covered for acts of terrorism. The insurance companies, according to Aboud, said that the assault and destruction of Port-of-Spain was as a direct result of terrorism and they refused to pay. The business owners filed writs against several insurance companies seeking compensation for their losses. Aboud pointed out that it was agreed by attorneys for the businesses that there will be a test case, which was brought by DOMA.

The DOMA president said his organisation lost the test case and it was ordered that each party bear its own costs. “What was not agreed upon was what should be done with the more than 100 writs which were filed and not heard. After we lost the test case, we actually forgot about the other cases,” Aboud argued. Aboud said that about a month and a half ago, the insurance companies wrote to the attorneys for DOMA seeking $15,000 in legal costs for each writ which had been filed. He said some business owners filed three and four writs because of the coverage which they had.

Aboud said business owners agreed that DOMA will seek a meeting with the Association of Insurance Companies (ATIC) in an effort to have this figure reduced. “I sought a meeting, I called, I wrote and I eventually got a reply saying they (ATIC) have no intention of meeting with us and that each individual owner can meet directly with the insurance companies/attorneys.” Aboud said his members did not want to go that route and they became very upset at the way the situation turned out. “I have not closed the door, I am still hoping that the insurance companies will still sit and talk with us and see what can be done. Asking us to pay that kind of money when it is we who suffered all the losses, it is really unfortunate.”