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John Issa asked if he had 'jooked' business partners
Sunday, January 24, 2010
SUPERCLUBS chairman, John Issa, pursuing a lawsuit he filed in the US, was asked if some of his business partners felt he had "jooked" them in his dealings with them.
Giving a follow-up deposition in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, Issa said variously that he did not think so or that he did not know if Anthony Ferrari, Frank Rantz or the Parnells of Braco fame felt that he had jooked them.
The Jamaican hotelier is maintaining that his reputation was damaged in defamatory e-mails traced to computers originating in Florida. The follow-up deposition to one given in January, was taken on September 9, 2009, and the case is being followed by the Sunday Observer.
Attorney Reginald Clyne of Clyne and Associates, representing the defendants in the lawsuit, asked Issa: "Mr Ferrari, would he say, as they say in Jamaica, you jooked him?"
Issa: "I don't know."
Clyne: "Would Mr Rantz say that you jooked him?"
Issa: "No, I don't think so."
Clyne: "So how about the Parnells, do they feel that you jooked them?"
Issa: "I don't know. The only thing I know that upset them, because they had a concession from a beauty salon or something like that, it was not very satisfactory, and when we leased the place, when we were negotiating it, they didn't like the terms, but they wanted -- one of the brothers-in-law continued to do a lot of work at the hotel with the grounds and equipment and so forth. Quite a while after, and both the -- one of the sons and the daughters -- they had VIP cards and they could come and eat and drink at the place. Their house wasn't far away."
Clyne: "The question is would they say that you jooked them?"
Issa: "I don't know what they'd say, but I'm just telling you what the relationship..."
Joe DeMaria, Issa's attorney: "John, you were doing good on the first one. Say I don't know and be quiet so we can end this."
Clyne: "Would Dennis Morgan, would he say that you breached your fiduciary duty to Mutual Life?"
Issa: "No."
Clyne: "Would he say that you were less than honourable in buying the hotels from The Bahamas?"
Issa: "I don't think so."
Clyne: "All right. Did you disclose to Jamaica Mutual Life you were buying the hotel in The Bahamas?"
Issa: "After the fact, but Mutual Life was only a partner in one company which owned two hotels. We had other hotels with nothing to do with Mutual Life. Mutual Life wasn't a partner in the parent company."
Clyne: "Was there statement made to the effect you were using Mutual Life's money to buy the hotel?"
Issa: "I heard that for the first time today and it's not true."
Clyne: "Did you pay a fair price to Mr Ferrari for the shares he owned?"
Issa: "I think so."
Clyne: "Did he tell you that he disagreed with the price?"
Issa: "No, he agreed with the price. We negotiated and settled it."
Clyne: "Was that after the lawsuit?"
Issa: "Yes."
Clyne: "So he took less...he asked for a higher price before the lawsuit?"
Issa: "No."
Clyne: "Didn't he ask for US$11 million?"
Issa: "I don't remember that. I don't remember us negotiating before the lawsuit."
Clyne: "Did you pay him $3 million?"
Issa: "I would have to look it up, but in that range. He got more than per share than Frank Rantz got."
Clyne: "Did Frank Rantz feel you might have cheated him when you bought his shares?"
Issa: "I don't know, because if we negotiated..."
DeMaria: "John, just stop."
Clyne: "Did he ever voice to you that he felt he was being cheated when you purchased his shares?"
Issa: "No. Neither did Ferrari."
Later in the deposition, Clyne asked Issa: "Do you have a reputation for taking over a hotel through lease or management and then squeezing out the owners of the hotel and then becoming the owner yourself?"
Issa: "No."
To be continued
Sunday, January 24, 2010
SUPERCLUBS chairman, John Issa, pursuing a lawsuit he filed in the US, was asked if some of his business partners felt he had "jooked" them in his dealings with them.
Giving a follow-up deposition in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, Issa said variously that he did not think so or that he did not know if Anthony Ferrari, Frank Rantz or the Parnells of Braco fame felt that he had jooked them.
The Jamaican hotelier is maintaining that his reputation was damaged in defamatory e-mails traced to computers originating in Florida. The follow-up deposition to one given in January, was taken on September 9, 2009, and the case is being followed by the Sunday Observer.
Attorney Reginald Clyne of Clyne and Associates, representing the defendants in the lawsuit, asked Issa: "Mr Ferrari, would he say, as they say in Jamaica, you jooked him?"
Issa: "I don't know."
Clyne: "Would Mr Rantz say that you jooked him?"
Issa: "No, I don't think so."
Clyne: "So how about the Parnells, do they feel that you jooked them?"
Issa: "I don't know. The only thing I know that upset them, because they had a concession from a beauty salon or something like that, it was not very satisfactory, and when we leased the place, when we were negotiating it, they didn't like the terms, but they wanted -- one of the brothers-in-law continued to do a lot of work at the hotel with the grounds and equipment and so forth. Quite a while after, and both the -- one of the sons and the daughters -- they had VIP cards and they could come and eat and drink at the place. Their house wasn't far away."
Clyne: "The question is would they say that you jooked them?"
Issa: "I don't know what they'd say, but I'm just telling you what the relationship..."
Joe DeMaria, Issa's attorney: "John, you were doing good on the first one. Say I don't know and be quiet so we can end this."
Clyne: "Would Dennis Morgan, would he say that you breached your fiduciary duty to Mutual Life?"
Issa: "No."
Clyne: "Would he say that you were less than honourable in buying the hotels from The Bahamas?"
Issa: "I don't think so."
Clyne: "All right. Did you disclose to Jamaica Mutual Life you were buying the hotel in The Bahamas?"
Issa: "After the fact, but Mutual Life was only a partner in one company which owned two hotels. We had other hotels with nothing to do with Mutual Life. Mutual Life wasn't a partner in the parent company."
Clyne: "Was there statement made to the effect you were using Mutual Life's money to buy the hotel?"
Issa: "I heard that for the first time today and it's not true."
Clyne: "Did you pay a fair price to Mr Ferrari for the shares he owned?"
Issa: "I think so."
Clyne: "Did he tell you that he disagreed with the price?"
Issa: "No, he agreed with the price. We negotiated and settled it."
Clyne: "Was that after the lawsuit?"
Issa: "Yes."
Clyne: "So he took less...he asked for a higher price before the lawsuit?"
Issa: "No."
Clyne: "Didn't he ask for US$11 million?"
Issa: "I don't remember that. I don't remember us negotiating before the lawsuit."
Clyne: "Did you pay him $3 million?"
Issa: "I would have to look it up, but in that range. He got more than per share than Frank Rantz got."
Clyne: "Did Frank Rantz feel you might have cheated him when you bought his shares?"
Issa: "I don't know, because if we negotiated..."
DeMaria: "John, just stop."
Clyne: "Did he ever voice to you that he felt he was being cheated when you purchased his shares?"
Issa: "No. Neither did Ferrari."
Later in the deposition, Clyne asked Issa: "Do you have a reputation for taking over a hotel through lease or management and then squeezing out the owners of the hotel and then becoming the owner yourself?"
Issa: "No."
To be continued
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