Gov’t seeking damages in Barbuda airport case

The government has filed for damages in the Barbuda airport construction case. This is in response to Dr. David Dorsett, who is representing the government’s interest in the matter, said the documents were filed in the court on Wednesday.
The government had initially threatened to file for damages if the lawyers representing Barbudans Jacklyn Frank and John Mussington filed for a second injunction, which, Dorsett confirmed was done on Wednesday.
“The government has suffered significant damage, which is well in excess of $1.35 million and the Attorney General has asked that the Barbudan interest make good on their undertaking, where they had said if the injunction was wrongly granted, they would come good on the damages.
“The fact that injunction was lifted, in our view, is a tell-tale sign that the injunction was wrongly granted. The Court of Appeal would not lift the injunction if it was proper in the circumstances. The matter is to be heard and no date has been set as yet,” Dr. Dorsett said.
He also pointed to several other matters which are before the court for resolution, including an application that was filed by Hugh Marshall to exclude the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority (ABBA) as a party to the ongoing case.
“The court has received submissions from both sides on the matter and has given Marshall a further seven days to put in a reply to the submissions that have been filed by Leslie Thomas QC [the lawyer for the Barbudans] on that point. While that matter is being considered, the court will inform us as to a date when that application will be heard in full,” the lawyer said.
He said the court has also granted leave for the Barbudan lawyer to attend the hearing by video conference or other media as he may be out of state when a date is set.
Through their lawyer, the two Barbudans filed a successful injunction in the court in early August to halt work on the construction of a new airport in Barbuda citing environmental issues. The injunction was lifted on September 11 after the lawyers representing the government won an appeal.