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MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020
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Judge hits âdouble dippingâ attorneys By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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SUPREME Court judge has blasted the practice of attorneys representing both parties in the same real estate transaction after finding one guilty of âprofessional negligenceâ. Justice Indra Charles said Bahamian attorneys continued to expose themselves to potential conflicts of interest despite judicial disapproval after she determined that Donna Dorsett-Major failed to properly advise foreign second home buyers about the risks and consequences of the $150,000 deal they were agreeing. The judge hit out after finding in favour of Alan and Sharon Crawford, a Texas couple, in their dispute with former Cat Island administrator turned real estate developer, Christopher Stubbs, who sold them
Cruise port chief in âguaranteeâ on bondâs success By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU Cruise Portâs ultimate parent has pledged to âguaranteeâ the success of its $130m bond issue by covering any capital shortfall that may exist when the offering closes at the end of this week. Mehmet Kutman, Global Ports Holdingâs chairman, told Tribune Business via an Internet conference call that he will âchip in the differenceâ should investor demand be insufficient to
⢠Slams practice of acting for both parties in deal ⢠And blasts former Cat Island administrator ⢠Restaurant, septic tank removed by end-July
JUSTICE INDRA CHARLES a waterfront lot in his Shannaâs Cove development in 2010. Relations between the two sides soured after the deal was completed and the couple built their residence. Justice Charles ordered that Mr Stubbs and his Shannaâs Cove Estate Company remove both the raise the full amount. Promising that he would not allow Prince George Wharfâs planned $250m redevelopment to be interrupted or delayed by financing needs, Mr Kutman said he was still âfairly comfortableâ that the bond will be oversubscribed after 50 percent was raised during the first week. He spoke out after Anthony Ferguson, principal of CFAL, which is acting as the bondâs lead placement agent, revealed that some investment houses/broker-dealers, which typically direct where client monies are placed, had reacted coolly to the bond offering given the multiple uncertainties impacting the global cruise industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Super Value in struggle to fill 100 vacancies By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SUPER Valueâs principal is questioning if âpeople want to workâ as the supermarket chain struggles to fill up to 100 vacant posts amid an unemployment rate predicted by the Prime Minister to hit 30 percent. Rupert Roberts, pictured, told Tribune Business that the company was one of the few recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown with 30 cashiers, stockmen,
trainee managers, department heads, frozen food and fresh produce workers among the vacancies it is trying to fill. âI would think that in this country today there must be
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incomplete restaurant being constructed across the access road to the Crawfordsâ property, and the septic tank on the beach in front of their house, by July 31, 2020. Her May 1, 2020, judgment also revealed that Mr Stubbs had proceeded with the restaurantâs construction in violation of the Town Planning Act because the building permit had expired, while he also ignored a âcease and desist noticeâ from the Cat Island District Town Planning Board over zoning infractions. Justice Charles suggested that power seemed to have âgone to Mr Stubbsâ headâ from his days as Cat Island administrator, and that he believed he could do as he pleased at Shannaâs Cove.
She also accepted Mr Crawfordâs evidence that Mr Stubbs had said âno judge in The Bahamas can tell him what he can or cannot do with his landâ. The ruling gives an insight into the animosity that can erupt over Family Island land disputes far out of sight from Nassau. It is also an example of the kind of situations that The Bahamas needs to avoid as it battles for every cent of foreign investment and currency it can lay its hands on in a post-COVID-19 environment with its tourism industry shutdown. At trial, Mrs DorsettMajor âvehementlyâ denied that she ever represented the Crawfords in the
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Sebas blasts PM on gaming closure By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ISLAND Luckâs principal last night accused the prime minister of âtargetingâ the domestic gaming industry and its 3,500 employees after he ordered the sector to close once more. Sebas Bastian, in a messaged response to Tribune Business inquiries, questioned why the industry had been âsingled outâ and âassailed by this government yet againâ after it was the only one barred from offering delivery and curb side pick-up services and ordered to shut its doors in the latest Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Order. Arguing that there was âno logic or rationaleâ to support the governmentâs decision, Mr Bastian said the move was clearly not based on any healthrelated concerns given that other âso-called âvicesââ such as liquor stores had been allowed to re-open to consumers. Urging the government to publicly disclose the reasons for permitting certain industries and companies to re-open, while requiring
SEBAS BASTIAN others to remain closed, the Island Luck chief said ordering domestic gaming to close just one week after it re-opened threatened to worsen the very 30 percent unemployment rate that the prime minister himself voiced concerns about yesterday. The prime minister, in his national address, said the permission granted for businesses to provide delivery and curb-side pick-up services were âdesigned to relate strictly to retail business establishments which can operate efficiently without the need for direct person-to-person physical contact or face to face interactionsâ.
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