The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman developer Humphreys (Cayman) Ltd. and Fluor Daniel Caribbean, Inc. both agreed last week to walk away from their legal dispute with each getting nothing from the other.
The agreement followed Fluor’s decision not to pursue a new trial on its claims that Humphreys breached the parties’ contract and allegedly caused Fluor damages.
Both parties signed a stipulated order on 29 September under which they agreed not to appeal the matter further and to cover their own costs and attorney’s fees.
‘Basically we agreed to walk away with zero damages and no liability to each other,’ said Michael Ryan, owner and developer of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. ‘However as a result of the stipulation, Fluor has also given up its right to challenge any further our decision in March 2004 to terminate it for its failure to perform.’
On 9 September Denny Chin, the judge in the Southern District of New York trial between Humphreys and Fluor, overturned a unanimous, 10-person jury verdict awarding $28.8 million plus interest in damages to Humphreys without citing any specific points of law or procedural errors.
Fluor and Humphreys could either walk away or retry the case in front of Judge Chin on all issues as to liability and damages.
‘We could have insisted on a retrial after Fluor agreed to the judge’s recommendation to walk away, but we’re pragmatic,’ said Mr. Ryan. ‘We’d be arguing our case in front of the same judge. It’s simply unrealistic, and I believe grossly unfair, to expect us to retry the case in front of the same judge.’
In the past few weeks two media outlets, KYC News and Cayman Net News reported in virtually identical articles that Fluor had opted for a new trial.
‘Perhaps because of bad sources, failure to corroborate facts according to journalistic standards or simply not understanding the legal process, they got it dead wrong,’ said Mr. Ryan.
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman resort and private ownership Residences continue to be on track for a late fall opening, Mr. Ryan said.
‘This litigation is over, but the benefits that our project will bring to the island are just beginning to be realized,’ he said. ‘When we open we’ll add 365 hotel rooms to Cayman’s inventory, 1,000 jobs to its workforce and more than seven per cent to its gross domestic product.’
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