NASSAU| Water and Sewerage Corporation Chairman Adrian Gibson is in hot water after a lawsuit filed by a top law firm accuses him of corruption.
Halsbury Chambers alleges Gibson wanted the firm to bill the corporation for his personal defamation claim against Gregory Miller, President of Apex Underground and Utilities.
Miller in July 2019 accused Gibson of giving work to Bahamas Hot Mix –a company connected to Brent Symonette–to the detriment of smaller contractors.
Gibson asked the firm to begin defamation proceedings after Miller refused to withdraw his statements. The chairman allegedly asked Halsbury Chambers to bill the corporation for the legal fees associated with the defamation suit.
The lawsuit alleges that Gibson got upset when Halsbury Chambers told him that those fees ought to be paid by him and not from the public purse since the lawsuit was personal.
As a result of the law firm’s refusal to bill the corporation, Gibson cut off all communication with Halsbury, which had been contracted to collect payments from delinquent customers, with respect to owed legal fees, the suit alleges.
Between Janaury 2019 and November 2019, the firm collected $10 million, reducing the corporation’s receivables to $36 million.
Halsbury Chambers in February 2020 met with the Corporation’s general manager, who agreed to pay the owed legal legal fees.
The firm received a payment of $20,000 in September 2020, but $40,221.07 remains outstanding.
Halsbury is suing for outstanding legal fees, costs and interest.
