T&T coach settles lawsuit and players threaten court action
Latapy settles $5m lawsuit with TTFA
From Soca Warriors
Former national football coach Russell Latapy has withdrawn a lawsuit against the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) for more than $5 million in compensation after both parties arrived at an out-of-court settlement.
Latapy had filed action against the TTFA in October of 2011 after claiming the money represented the salary owed to him and compensation for being wrongfully dismissed.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice Frank Seepersad at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain yesterday, attorneys representing both sides informed the court of the agreement. Details of the settlement however were not made public.
Latapy was seeking salary in the sum of US$424,278, plus interest, from April 8, 2011, at a rate of six per cent per annum. He was also seeking damages for wrongful dismissal, in the sum of US$402,852, with interest at six per cent per annum.
Interest at a rate of 12 per cent per annum was also being sought on any sums awarded from the date of judgment to the date of payment.
On April 15, 2009, Latapy was hired as head coach. The contract was run until November 30, 2009, on terms which included the payment of a base salary of US$33,571 per month.
This country’s national team’s bid to reach this year’s World Cup came to an end in November 2011, under German Otto Pfister, but Latapy had argued he agreed to stay on as a coach until another formal agreement was arrived at between himself and the TTFF.
Latapy says TTFF general secretary Richard Groden and then special adviser Jack Warner entered into an oral agreement with him to continue serving as a coach for two years, from March 2010, at the same salary.
The agreement provided no provision for its termination by either party. However, his contract was terminated on April 8, 2011. Latapy was represented by attorney Derek Ali while the TTFA was represented by Anthony Bullock.
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Strike squad threatens to return to court over longstanding pay dispute
From Guyana Chronicle
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – Members of Trinidad and Tobago’s 2006 World Cup squad are threatening to return to court after the country’s football association fell behind on a payment schedule designed to honour a longstanding pay dispute.
“The players are now getting together to instruct (local attorney) Dave De Peiza to bring the matter back to court to enforce the debt,” the player’s London-based attorney, Michael Townley revealed.
Thirteen players were owed nearly TT$12M after the UK-based Sports Dispute Resolution Panel (SPDR) and later the Trinidad and Tobago High Court ruled in their favour in a legal impasse with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF).
An out-of-court settlement to pay in several tranches was reached last May. However, players are now complaining that the TTFA is five months late in the second of five payments.
“We are owed over half of the sum due since the 1st of September although we have been promised that several times since then from several different sources,” Townley told Wired868.
“According to the schedule, the players were due their second tranche on the 1st September but less than half of that was paid and, even then, it was late. Despite many promises there is nothing concrete to show for it.”
The SDRP had awarded the players 50 per cent of proceeds associated with the 2006 World Cup campaign.
However, the matter had to be contested in the High Court here after the TTFF failed to settle on the grounds that the players had breached the Panel’s gag order.
“Every player with the exception of one is prepared to go back to court,” declared Kelvin Jack, Trinidad and Tobago’s first-choice goalkeeper for much of the qualifying campaign.
“It has been very disappointing. We have been through this thing since 2006 and now we are in 2014 and are still in this situation …”.
The threat of a return to the High Court comes a week after the local football body announced an out-of-court agreement with another ex-World Cup player Russell Latapy.
Reports suggest that Latapy accepted the promise of payment over two tranches from the TTFA as well as an acknowledgment of its debt to him from his tenure as national coach.
“Unfortunately some of the money that was promised (to us) hasn’t materialised so we are in the process of sourcing the remaining amount,” said TTFA general secretary Sheldon Phillip.
“There are some extenuating circumstances that got in the way of our getting hold of those funds; but we got assurances that those funds will be paid very shortly.”
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