Astaldi misses deadline to pay legal fees awarded to Muskrat Falls Corp.
Canadian subsidiary of Italian contractor was ordered to pay $437,324
Astaldi's push for arbitration with Nalcor on the embattled Muskrat Falls megaproject has backfired, and the construction company has reportedly skipped out on the bill.
In June, Astaldi Canada Inc. (ACI) was ordered to pay more than $437,000 in legal fees and other costs to the Muskrat Falls Corporation (MFC).
New court documents reveal Astaldi failed to make those payments.
Both sides will now head back to court to debate whether the payment should be ordered by the court.
Arbitration proves costly
The contractor filed for arbitration on Sept. 27, 2018.
Astaldi was in deep financial trouble at the time, unable to make payroll for its employees and subcontractors on the embattled hydroelectric project in Labrador.
MFC — a division of Nalcor — argued against arbitration, thus launching a complex court battle.
A judge eventually ruled in Astaldi's favour and sent both sides to the table.
As this was happening, Astaldi filed an interim relief motion with hopes of preventing Nalcor from drawing on Astaldi's letters of credit to get the money it was owed.
That decision proved costly for the contractor — the motion was denied and costs were awarded to MFC.
MFC was asking for $587,000, but Astaldi fought back.
"ACI complains MFC used too many lawyers and spent too much time responding to the interim relief motion," documents read.
In the end, the arbitration tribunal knocked $50,000 off MFC's demands but still ruled Astaldi must pay up.
The costs included $312,500 in legal fees, $90,000 for the arbitration process and more than $30,000 to pay travel costs for lawyers.
The payment was due July 13, but the money never came.
The Muskrat Falls Corporation has since filed a motion to have the arbitration award registered, meaning the payment would be ordered by the court.
Both sides will be at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John's on Aug. 22 for a hearing.
MFC is also seeking $679,178 in lost interest payments, covering the time between when Astaldi filed its interim relief motion and when the motion was denied. The tribunal ruled that must be dealt with separate from the arbitration costs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
