After more than a year of noticeably one-sided press accounts, a jury in a Southern District of New York courtroom ruled in favour of the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman developer Humphreys (Cayman) Ltd. last week.
Not only did Humphrey’s successfully defend the nearly $30 million lawsuit brought by Fluor Daniel Caribbean Inc., the jury awarded developer Michael Ryan’s company $28.8 million plus interest in the counterclaim.
This happened despite all of the negative and persistent newspaper stories, which told the Cayman public this and that about the Ritz developer, but virtually nothing about the other side of the story.
Yet a jury, possessed of the facts from both parties to the lawsuit, spoke more loudly than any sensational headline.
Now vindicated, Mr. Ryan deserves to be allowed to get on with the development of the Ritz-Carlton without the distraction of overblown and biased attacks published under the guise of news.
This was an American jury in an American courtroom ruling against what is essentially an American company.
The verdict result wasn’t supposed to happen that way. People supposedly in the know were practically betting it wouldn’t. The fact that it did surely means Humphreys had a compelling case against Fluor Daniel.
While the verdict is certainly a major victory for Humphreys and Michael Ryan, it is also a victory for the Cayman Islands.
The opening of the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman will be just the tonic to help Cayman tourism recover from its Hurricane Ivan hangover.
It will generate an excitement in Cayman tourism like virtually nothing else, and generate positive press reports all over the world.
Realtors are also looking forward to the effect the opening of the Ritz-Carlton will have on real-estate sales and values.
The Ritz-Carlton will also create jobs for Caymanians and raise the bar of customer service to new levels.
Now, more than ever after Hurricane Ivan, this country needs the Ritz-Carlton here.
We can only hope the verdict of a lawsuit in a far-away courtroom finally puts an end to the onslaught of negative press.
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