A judge at the Federal High Court has ordered an injunction on the ongoing construction of a restaurant and an open-air cinema inside the Ghion Hotel premises in Addis Abeba.
The latest ruling put another turn last week in the legal battle between the Ghion Hotels Enterprise and Das Engineering & Innovation Plc, the latter co-established by a local filmmaker, Tewodros Teshome, along with Surafel Worku.
Das Engineering began the construction on a 5,000sqm of land after winning a bid the Enterprise put out in June 2019. One of two bidders, it was awarded a contract for a 10-year lease with 400,000 Br in monthly rent. Less than a year later, Ghion's management terminated the contract, alleging that Das Engineering had defaulted on its rent for three months beginning March 2020, amounting to 1.75 million Br.
Das began legal proceedings against Ghion Hotels Enterprise at the Federal High Court in February 2021, claiming an unlawful breach of contract. The legal team of Das Engineering argued that the contract between their client and the Hotel included a clause exempting Das from paying rent if construction is halted due to external factors beyond the control of both parties.
The company alleged the six-month state of emergency declared in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented it from undertaking construction works. Ghion Hotel, which was established in 1951 and sits on a 123,000sqm plot in a prime location of the capital, was used as a quarantine centre shortly after the state of emergency was declared. Lawyers of the plaintiff also blamed the managment of the Enterprise for defaulting on an agreement to let their client host a 12-day expo on the premises in January 2021 after the company issued a four million Birr cheque, which it later blocked.
Ghion's legal representatives pleaded for the suspension of the construction project and appealed to judges to order Das Engineering & Innovation to unblock the cheque. Judges at the High Court ruled that the construction works have no relation to the litigation, and rejected Ghion’s appeal for clearing the cheque.
Ghion's lawyers took the case to the Supreme Court.
Justices at the Supreme Court overturned the High Court's ruling in October this year, allowing Ghion to take the case back to Federal High Court and appeal against the construction project on its premises. Judges at the Federal High Court, second civil bench, presided over the case on December 14, 2021.
Lawyers representing Das Engineering & Innovation, Million Assefa Mersha Law Office, requested an adjournment as some witnesses had not appeared in court. Judge Seble Kinfe, who presided over the case, dismissed Das' request for an adjournment and ordered the company to pay 5,000 Br as compensation of travel expenses witnesses brought by the plaintiff incurred. The Judge also issued an injunction against the construction works on the Hotel premises until the next court date set for January 10, 2022.
PUBLISHED ON
Dec 19,2021 [ VOL
22 , NO
1129]
My Opinion | Sep 19,2020
Featured | Jan 05,2019
Films Review | Nov 02,2019
Radar | May 09,2020
Fortune News | Oct 31,2020
Radar | Aug 28,2021
Radar | Sep 26,2021
Viewpoints | Sep 07,2019
Radar | Jul 18,2021
Radar | Aug 28,2021
Dec 24 , 2022
Biniam Mikru heads the department of cabinet affairs under Mayor Adanech Abiebie. But...
Jul 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
Nov 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
Nov 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
May 27 , 2023
Tauted as a somnolent giant, Ethiopia's financial scene now stirs, roused by favourab...
May 20 , 2023
The pungent irony wafting from Pretoria last week was hard to miss. Cyril Ramaphosa,...
May 13 , 2023
In March this year, Kamala Harris, the United States Vice President, visited Ghana, T...
May 6 , 2023
The history of the Ethiopian labour movement dates back to the 1940s, marked by perio...
Loading your updates...