Lawyer Says Airport Construction Illegal

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Tuesday, 17 April 2012 02:31

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - The attorney representing Stanford Development Company (SDC), Hugh Marshall Jr, has said construction of the new VC Bird International Airport terminal is forging ahead illegally.

Marshall said the government is working unlawfully on lands that still belong to the SDC, since negotiations for its sale to the state have not been finalized.

Speaking with Caribarena.com on Friday, Marshall said the company has long since taken legal action to prevent the government from using the land, but these orders are being ignored.

“The government is doing its own thing. There are existing orders that have been in place since July of 2010,” Marshall said.

But while the attorney complains, the receivers appointed to manage the liquidators of Stanford assets said although the SDC had informed them of the potential sale of the land, it is yet to provide an update on the proposal and what is being negotiated.

The receivers also agreed that the lands cannot be sold without their explicit permission, and anything outside of their permission would be illegal.



Hugh Marshall Jr believes, though, that the receivers’ taking such a stance is a gross misrepresentation.

“That is a bit surprising to me, because when I was first approached by the government in relation to the land, there was a letter from the joint liquidators agreeing to the sale of the land at what I would consider to be insignificant value," he said.

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"So I am very surprised that they don't know of the transaction. They have been informed… They have been kept informed.”

He added that if the receivers have not gotten any updates from his office or the officers of the SDC in Antigua, it is likely because “maybe none has been warranted”.

Marshall said if the receivers believe they need ball-by-ball updates “all they have to do is ask”.

Responding to statements from the receivers that the sale of the lands is illegal without their blessing, Marshall said there is already a court order in place that governs the transaction.

“There is an order and the government has to fulfill their obligations under the order… it is not a sale by private treaty,” the attorney said. “The liquidators have possession of that order. They know what the terms and conditions are and what the negotiations are about, and if they are saying otherwise, I do not believe it is accurate.”

Attorney General Justin Simon provided Caribarena.com with a “corrected” draft court order that, according to him, Marshall said he would be filing subsequent to signed government approval.

He said, “The judgment debt in favour of APUA is more than sufficient to cover the purchase price of parcel 72, which is the taxi stand, and urgently needed to commence the construction of the new terminal; parcel 71 is the former government car park…”

Simon added that the judgment debt could be confirmed by APUA’s attorney, Lenworth Johnson.

Further, the AG said he expects that the other debts would be settled this week.

The government had proposed settling the cost of the land against outstanding monies owed to statutory bodies by the SDC.

“I have forwarded Mr Marshall the figures from the various statutory boards and in respect of property tax," the AG said. "From my calculations, the cash balance would be less than a million dollars."



In the meantime however, Marshall maintains that the ongoing construction at the airport is illegal and that the government continues to do what it wants in spite of the orders against them.

He did not say what further legal steps the SDC would take to the courts once again to stop the construction activity.

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