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Harry Narine to pay Didco $1.7 B over failure to secure best price for property
Kaieteur News- The High Court has ordered that Didco Trading Company be paid over $1.7 billion by Harry Narine, a receiver, who was appointed to assist the company in paying off its debt, but failed to secure the best price for one of its properties.
Harry Narine to pay Didco $1.7 B over failure to secure best price for property
Justice Navindra Singh ordered Narine to pay the sum of $1,729,300,000.00 to Didco and Mr. Deonarine Singh for the property. Justice Singh also ordered that Narine pays prescribed costs in the sum of $11,996,500.0.
The ruling is based on a case filed by Didco Trading Limited and Singh against Narine, who was appointed receiver of Didco after the company failed to pay an installment on a loan to the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI).
Court documents seen by this newspaper showed that Narine had sold a wharf facility to Demerara Boating Inc. on July 20, 2021, for US $10 million or GYD $2.1 50,000,000.
However, Didco contended that the property was sold for a value far below its worth.
Through the law firm of Boston and Boston, the company and its principal argued that the receiver did not exercise due skill and care to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable for the property and therefore did not act in good faith and /or in a commercially reasonable manner.
During the trial, the court took into consideration the evidence of Denroy Livan, an expert in the field of property valuation.
Livan testified that in May 2021, he inspected the property and prepared a valuation report. He told the court that the market value of the property at the time of assessment was GYD $2.1 billion.
Under cross examination, however, Mr. Livan revealed that he did not value the wharf. He accepted too that his report was void of a method or explanation as to how he arrived at the value of the property; he failed to apply the cost approach in conducting the valuation.
In contrast, property valuation expert, David Patterson, gave a breakdown of the valuation process and determined that the property was worth $3.150, 000,000 as of June 30, 2022.
Patterson testified that the market value increased to over $3.8 billion by the end of that year. Patterson’s evidence adequately explained the methods he used to arrive at the valuation of the property.
In their filing before the court, the claimants, Didco et al, relied on the valuation of Patterson as a true reflection of the market value of the property.
In his determination, Justice Singh accepted Patterson’s valuation, and the court further accepted the valuation as being a current market valuation for July 2021, despite the fact that the valuation was done in 2022.
Further, the court determined that Narine sold Didco’s property over which he controlled as the receiver and in so doing, “did not exercise due skill and care to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable for the property and did not act in good faith.”
In the circumstances, the court found the defendant is liable to the claimants for the difference between the price that the property was sold for and the market value at the date of the sale.
(Harry Narine to pay Didco $1.7 B over failure to secure best price for property)
- court, Debt, Didco, GBTI, loan, properties, receivership
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