Ritz-Carlton on track to open
A $28.8 million judgement in favour of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman project developer and against Fluor Daniel has been overruled.
‘We are outraged that the findings of 10 unbiased jurors, who evaluated the credibility of the witnesses for both sides and all of the evidence, have been disregarded by a single judge,’ said Michael Ryan, owner and developer of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.
‘We presented our case that Fluor failed to perform, and the jury agreed 100 per cent. That’s the way the American civil justice system works – it’s astonishing that a single federal court judge would disturb a unanimous 10- person jury verdict that was proven to be supported by the evidence.’
Denny Chin, the judge in the Southern District of the New York trial between Humphreys (Cayman) Ltd and Fluor Daniel Caribbean, Inc. ruled on Friday to grant a new trial following Fluor’s motion appealing a jury verdict in Humphrey’s favour.
On 23 June, 2005, a 10-member jury unanimously voted to award $28.8 million plus interest to Humphreys, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman project developer. The jury members rejected Fluor’s claim and evidence that it was wrongfully terminated.
The jury members were also polled individually in the courtroom to confirm their verdict, each proclaiming their decision that the evidence proved that Fluor breached its contract with Humphreys, that Humphreys had the right to terminate Fluor for its breaches of the contract and that Humphreys was entitled to $28.8 million in damages from Fluor. Jurors listened to the evidence presented by both sides for more than three weeks and then analyzed the project records and evidence for three days as they deliberated.
However, in granting the motion for a new trial, the judge ruled that the verdict was ‘seriously erroneous and a miscarriage of justice.’ He did not cite any specific points of law or procedural errors
At this point in the proceedings, there are two possible outcomes. Both parties can agree to a ‘walk away’ in which no damages are awarded to either side or the case can be retried.
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman project development team terminated Fluor Daniel on 3 March, 2004, citing that the general contractor was unable to complete its work in a cost effective and timely manner. In the ensuing months the development team had taken over as the construction manager for the project. Despite the Fluor Daniel litigation and rebuilding delays owing to Hurricane Ivan, which struck Grand Cayman in September 2004, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman development team has been unwavering in its commitment to a late fall 2005 opening for both the hotel and its private ownership Residences.
‘As we’ve stated before, this legal dispute has never been a factor in our ability to open this $500 million resort,’ said Ryan. ‘We have the resources to proceed with our scheduled turnover of the resort to The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC and our Residence owners. More than 1,000 men and women are working on site today to meet that goal. We’ve overcome every obstacle that has challenged this project. If it becomes necessary to retry this matter, we’ll do it and we will win again because we know we rightfully terminated Fluor, and we are entitled to recover the damages they caused.’
Related Videos
