Blue Water Medical sues government over COVID test order

A Cayman Islands medical supply company has filed a lawsuit against government over a cancelled order for 500,000 lateral flow test kits.

Blue Water Medical Supplies filed a writ in the Grand Court Friday alleging government had pulled out of a contract to buy the COVID-19 Flowflex Rapid Antigen Tests for a total cost of $1.275 million.

The agreement was confirmed through a government-issued purchase order on 27 Oct., it is alleged in court documents.

Blue Water is seeking the remedy of ‘specific performance’ – meaning it is asking the court to enforce the original contract – or award appropriate damages for “breach of contract”.

Use of the lateral flow COVID-19 tests – which provide results within 30 minutes – are considered key to keeping children in classrooms and workers on the front lines as the virus sweeps across Cayman.

They are particularly important in schools, where students are required to test every day for 10 days in order to attend class, if one of their classmates has tested positive.

Summary notes from a Cabinet meeting, held on 2 Nov., indicate that government has now agreed to purchase 1 million lateral flow tests from Crown Agents, an international development company based in the UK that has been a source for other COVID supplies for Cayman.

The notes indicate Cabinet agreed to pay $3 million for the tests.

The summary notes make no mention of Blue Water Medical or any earlier contract.

Randy Merren, of Blue Water Medical, said the company had been asked, in October, by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to submit a bid on an open tender for both 300,000 and 500,000 test kits.

He said the company had won the bid and been presented with a purchase order for 500,000 tests. On that basis, he said it had made orders with suppliers who were now looking for payment.

Merren said he was informed Monday that the purchase order was being withdrawn. He said he was surprised to learn that government had now agreed to pay what appears to be a higher price to a non-Caymanian company.

“All we want is the contract to be honoured and to deliver the tests. We successfully won a tender and were issued a purchase order from the Cayman Islands government. We expect government to honour that purchase order, otherwise it is not worth anything any more.”

Finance Minister Chris Saunders told the Cayman Compass, Friday, he had been uncomfortable releasing funds for the original contract based on the details he was given.

“I am aware that this issue has now become a legal matter and as such I can provide no comment at this time except to say that as the Minister of Finance I have to ensure that the public’s interest is protected at all times,” he said.

“Based on information and documentation that was available to me as Minister, I was uncomfortable with authorising those funds to be spent from the Ministry of Finance.”