GCB vs WIPA, WIMACOL & Ramnarine

Sep 03, 2010 Sports

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WIPA’s President appears in Guyana Court,CJ to rule on preliminary objection Sept. 13

By Sean Devers

Chief Justice (Acting) Ian Chang will on September 13 rule on the preliminary objection put forward by the lawyer for defendants West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), West Indies Player management Company Limited (WIPMACOL) and WIPA’s President Dinanath Ramnarine in their court battle with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
This decision was made after submissions in Guyana’s High Court yesterday by Attorney Anil Nandalall who is representing Ramnarine, WIPA and WIPMACOL and GCB’s Attorney Sanjeev Datadin
The GCB, on August 12 had secured an interim injunction against WIPA, Ramnarine and WIPMACOL which restrains the parties named from interfering in a contract which exists between the GCB and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) for Guyana’s participation in this month’s Champions League T/20 cricket tournament in South Africa.
The injunction bars the parties named in the action from doing any act which has the tendency of causing or inducing the GCB to dishonour or act in breach of the agreement for Guyana to participate in the upcoming tournament.
GCB President, Chetram Singh and Secretary, Anand Sanasie had filed affidavits in support of the application which was made through the board’s attorneys
Prior to the August 12 court move the GCB had ignored requests by WIPA to engage in negotiations on behalf of its members, and in the application for the injunction the GCB made it clear that demands by WIPA, more specifically its President, would not be met.
While GCB head Chetram Singh was not in Court yesterday Sanasie and Ramnarine, who flew in from Trinidad for the hearing, were both present.
WIPA has the legal rights to conduct business on WIPMACOL’s behalf and Ramnarine wants to injunction to be lifted, since he claimed through his lawyers that it is causing him and WIPA, which is a non-profit organisation and WIPMOCAL (which deals with the players’ image rights) financial hardships and irreplaceable damage.
Nandalall is contending that the GCB, in their affidavit, did not demonstrate their ability to pay the cost his clients would have incurred and lost if they (WIPA) won the case. He also said that the GCB has not given the undertaking to the Court that they will compensate the defendants financially if the Cricket Board loses the case.
The GCB has been given 7-days to reply to the defendants’ Attorney and the Court will make a ruling on September 13 on if Ramnarine’s application has any merit.
Datadin claims that since Ramnarine says he does not take any money from the players he would not lose financially if the injunction is in place adding that Ramnarine claims to be the agent of the players but to the exclusion of the players because they (players) need WIPA’s approval since their image rights are owned by WIPMOCAL once they sign on to WIPA.
Nandalall, one of a battery of Lawyers representing WIPA, WIPMOCAL and Ramnarine, said that under the Law of injunctions the defendants shall be fully compensated for what they would have lost and what they had to spend to during the case if at a subsequent time it is proved that they were not in the wrong.
“Because an injunction matter is ex-parte…which means only one side is heard …the law provides for compensation if at a later stage the court is convinced that the injunction should not have been granted in the
first place,” Nandalall explained.
He added that because of the legal technicality of not demonstrating in their affidavit their ability to pay and not giving the undertaking to do so if they lost, the injunction should be lifted.
“We intend to file a security for cost application… which means we want them (GCB) to lodge money with the court before we begin dealing with the substantive matter,” Nandalall revealed.
He stressed that a high cost will be incurred to fight this case because the defendants are from overseas and have to travel to attend Court. WIPMACOL is registered in St Lucian while WIPA’s headquarters is in Port-of-Spain where Ramnarine resides.
Datadin argues that the GCB’s CLT20 contract was signed with the BCCI and the members of the Guyana team which will travel to South Africa and had nothing to do with WIPA.
“Ramnarine is talking to the players about playing or not and on money issues and he has no right to do that since the GCB has no contract with WIPA.
If the players who signed with him want to play there is nothing that WIPA can do because the GCB has no obligation to deal with WIPA even if some of the players are WIPA members” Datadin contended.
Datadin feels the WIPA President is not acting in the best interest of the players and said that the GCB was capable and willing to pay damages if they lost the case but was confident that would not happen.
Nandalall expects the injunction to be lifted at the next court date and is also confident that WIPA, who has never lost a legal dispute to any cricket board, will continue that trend.

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