The controversial NICH contract with David Gegg’s Cruise Solutions will go up for judicial review. And it’s all because of either a grammatical error or a simple lapse in judgment in the wording of a resolution of the NICH Board of Directors. And now the omission of one word has set the stage for judicial review of the contract signed by NICH President Diane Haylock and businessman David Gegg.
The drama played out in the Chief Justice’s courtroom this morning when Haylock’s attorney Eamon Courtenay - yes she and David Gegg share the same attorney - referred to resolutions passed by the NICH Board at a meeting yesterday. One of those resolutions was that the board had (and this is where the little slip up comes in) quote, “noted that the concession agreement was being challenged in the Supreme Court and instructed the president to inform the court that the board would re-execute the agreement in accordance with the NICH Act.” With the board now committing to “re-execute” the contract, Jaguar Paw’s attorney Godfrey Smith took the resolution as proof of his client’s claim that the contract was unlawfully entered into.
The Chief Justice agreed that the resolution appeared to be making a concession and so he granted permission for the judicial review. NICH’s attorney Lois Young was unconvinced that the board’s resolution was an admission of anything improper or unlawful but rather, a clear message from the board that NICH intends to go through with the deal they signed with Gegg. The other highlight of today’s proceeding was that an affidavit from board member Osiris Rodriguez was also entered by Smith, to dispute his own President and her contention that the NICH Board was aware of and had approved and ratified the Gegg contract.
The other sticky issue are entrance fees paid to NICH by Jaguar Paw and its guests. The lodge contends that because the Nohoch Chen is not an archaeological reserve, those monies were unlawfully collected and should be reimbursed. Smith and his co-counsel Elson Kaseke have undertaken to file the judicial review papers by February 26th.
