Informed sources told GRENADA TODAY that the lawyers have met to discuss the issue and mandated barrister-at-law, Cajeton Hood to do the necessary research on the suit.

Two other lawyers named in the potential suit are Anslem Clouden and Senator Arley Gill. The source said that he expected other members of the local bar to join the trio of lawyers at a later stage in bringing the law suit against the members of the Mitchell administration.

"I am doing some research on it", said Hood who declined to give a time frame for the filing of the suit. "I am charged with doing some of the research on it. This is no joke matter. It's wrong for taxpayers (alone) to be saddled with this kind of payment (to DIPCON). I will keep you posted on it. This is a serious thing", he remarked.

The London-based Privy Council ruled last month that the Government of Grenada and then Minister of Communications and Works, Gregory Bowen should compensate the Trinidad and Tobago-based Dipcon for millions of dollars due to the illegal termination of a construction contract.

Dr. Mitchell and the ruling New National Party (NNP) ended the contract within weeks of coming to power following the June 1995 general election on the grounds that DIPCON was not performing.
The company had signed an agreement with the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of former Prime Minister Sir Nicholas Brathwaite for lease of the quarry at Mt. Hartman to produce material for the Eastern Main Road project.

A well-placed source told this newspaper that the lawyers are looking at getting the local courts to order Minister Bowen and other members of the government who took the decision on the DIPCON matter to pay half of the money awarded by the Privy Council.

He said that if successful the lawyers would attempt to get Prime Minister Mitchell also personally liable since he was the Minister of Finance at the time of the action against DIPCON.

According to the source, the lawyers intend to argue in court that the Mitchell government demonstrated "reckless" behaviour in office and as such they had "endangered the funds of the State by now having to pay millions in compensation to the construction company.

"We have precedent for that", he said, adding that although such a suit had never been filed in local jurisdiction it had been done in other countries.

The source pointed to the failure of the State to put in a defense in the law suit filed by DIPCON for compensation as clear evidence of "negligence" on the part of the Mitchell Cabinet of Ministers. The Mitchell government has said that it intends to bring a lawsuit of its own for 25 million E.C dollars against DIPCON for not meeting its obligations to provide material for the project.

DIPCON's local attorney, Celia Clyne-Edwards has indicated that she has already put in motion the legal mechanisms to enforce the judgement on Minister Bowen and the Grenada government.
The lawyer could seize the personal property of the Deputy Prime Minister if the State fails to reach agreement on a schedule of payments to satisfy the judgement from the Privy Council.