GUYSUCO legal fees in US…You have to go to GUYSUCO to get the information—Cabinet Secretary

Jan 20, 2012 News

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Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, has directed all queries about monies paid by

the Guyana Sugar Corporation to its international lawyers to the sugar company.
Asked to comment on the legal costs incurred by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO), to maintain its obligations to foreign lawyers, he declined to divulge the information saying that it is not for the government to do so.
He reiterated that it is “not Government’s responsibility …you have to go to GUYSUCO to get the information.”
This, he said, is the government’s position despite pumping billions of dollars of tax revenues into the ailing sugar company. He suggested that queries be directed to GUYSCO.
This position by Dr Luncheon comes on the heels of GUYSUCO’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Bhim bluntly refusing to divulge the information save to say, “Let’s just say it’s a fair amount.”
Dr Luncheon, in justifying Government’s position, told media operatives that GUYSUCO is a legal entity onto itself and as such the administration could not divulge such information.
He said that while GUYSUCO is wholly owned by the government it remains a statutory body that has a legal personality
“The notion that there is some identity between the government and GUYSUCO should be entertained only so far.”
Dr Luncheon reiterated that it was GUYSUCO that has retained the counsel and as such it should be the sugar entity that makes the disclosure.
He explained that the lack of any forward movement by this publication on that regard is based on a similar contention that he shares which is that the Government is not the authority to divulge the information but rather the sugar entity
“You have to go to GUYSUCO…That is the place where the information is available,” Dr Luncheon said adding that it is not a case where Government cannot access the information but rather will not divulge it.

GUYSUCO’s CEO Paul Bhim on Tuesday last told this publication that he would provide the information on the amount of money paid the following day but when contacted on Wednesday he declined.
When pressed further, Bhim reiterated that he would only say that the amount paid to the overseas lawyers in the court case against Bedesse Imports Ltd is a “fair amount”, adding that he could divulge no more information.
In pointing out his hesitation to say anything further in relation to fees paid by the sugar entity, Bhim drew reference to an article that this publication carried in its Wednesday edition.
In that article it quoted Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, who is with the law firm Cameron and Shepherd that was hired to defend the matter, as saying that the fees paid to the overseas lawyers was a private matter.
Conservative estimates of the amount paid thus far for the lawyers in the court battle which is over two years old is some $350M.
Ramkarran told media operatives during a press briefing at Freedom House on Tuesday that as attorney for the clients, which includes GUYSUCO, he would need their permission to speak.
“As far as the fees for lawyers, that is an absurd question, that is people’s private business….it is GUYSUCO’s private business.”
Ramkarran suggested that maybe a question should be formulated and posed in the National Assembly.
A spokesman in the local law firm of Cameron and Shepherd had told this publication that United States law firms do not operate like those in Guyana. Lawyers charge by the hour. The spokesman said that top lawyers charge US$1,500 per hour.
Foley Hoag and Company lawyers charge slightly less. Investigations have revealed that the lawyers on the GUYSUCO case are charging about US$1,000 per hour. Two lawyers are working on the matter.
In the end, the cost could be very high but according to the spokesperson, this money could be recovered when the sugar company demands costs from Bedessee.
The issue began when GUYSUCO decided to challenge a United States-based Guyanese man, Vernon Bedesse, over the use of the label Demerara Gold on sugar packages.
GUYSUCO was already marketing a product, Demerara Gold, on the European market but the company discovered that Bedesse was marketing a product of the same name but instead of sugar made in Demerara, the product marketed by Bedesse was from Mauritius.
And Bedesse made it known on the label that his Demerara Gold was a product of Mauritius.
GUYSUCO immediately challenged the apparent trademark infringement. Its Washington-based lawyers, Foley Hoag and Company, have already secured a qualified registration in the United States as part of the challenge to Bedesse’s apparent trademark infraction.
Following the discovery of the alleged breach, the Agriculture Minister made some statements critical of Bedesse’s action. These statements were published by the local media and reproduced in the overseas editions of some of the local newspapers. Immediately Bedesse sued for libel and slander.

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