THE Port Authority says it intends to appeal “immediately" Tuesday’s ruling of the High Court which cleared maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso and two others of wrongdoing in the acquisition of the Superfast Galicia ferry almost a decade ago.
In a statement on Thursday, the port authority also said it will allow due process of the law to take its course.
It also said senior counsel has advised that there was a good chance of success on appeal.
The release took issue with comments attributed to Alfonso, saying an allegation of “spite” on the part of the Government in bringing the action was “self-serving and without foundation.”
On Tuesday, Justice Joan Charles dismissed the Port Authority’s claim for breach of fiduciary duty against Alfonso, Intercontinental Shipping Ltd (ICSL), and its representative, John Powell.
The lawsuit, filed in 2018, alleged between December 2013 and July 2014, the authority retained Alfonso to help procure a new vessel for the inter-island ferry service.
It claimed Alfonso breached her fiduciary duty as an attorney for the authority, as she was associated with the company and assisted in its successful tender in exchange for financial gain.
The authority alleged that while Alfonso was working for the port, she appointed Intercontinental Shipping Ltd as her agent to tender for the contract. Intercontinental, the agents for the Superfast Galicia, won the bid.
The claim further alleged Alfonso benefited financially from the $148 million paid to Intercontinental for the Galicia.
The lawsuit against the three sought damages for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by Alfonso while she was working for the Port Authority as an adviser, to help it source a vessel to replace the Warrior Spirit on the inter-island seabridge.
However, Charles held that the Port Authority did not establish that Alfonso acted in breach of her fiduciary duty to win the tender to service the seabridge. She also held that neither Intercontinental nor Powell acted as Alfonso’s agents or with her to “derive a pecuniary benefit.”
The Port Authority’s release said the lawsuit against the three was filed “after carefully considered advice received from eminent senior counsel.”
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