Justices at the Cassation Bench closed the bitter court battle between a local machinery rental company and a prominent construction firm over a construction equipment rental agreement in favour of the latter.

Presided over by Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi, the Cassation Bench of the Federal Supreme Court has turned down the appeal of Prosper International Plc, which has been fighting with Tekleberhan Ambaye Construction Plc (TACON) over a construction machinery rental contract for several years.

TACON rented two wheel loaders and a bulldozer from Prosper for the civil work it had under contract for Yayu Fertilizer Factory in Yayu Wereda, in Oromia, 600Km west of the capital. Metal & Engineering Corporation (MetEC) subcontracted the civil work to TACON at a cost of two billion Birr.

For the two loaders, the disputing parties contracted for 400 hours each and 500 hours for the bulldozer. TACON paid 460,000 Br for the loaders and 1.05 million Br for the bulldozer up front.

However, a legal ordeal between the duo was started at the Federal High Court in 2014 when TACON sued Prosper to retrieve 204,460 Br from the advance payment. The construction company claimed Prosper had to return the amount it made for the two wheel loaders, which broke down without serving out the contract time.

TACON requested the payback, claiming that the loaders suffered mechanical problems that forced a stoppage of operations in August 2012 and that they worked for only 445 hours. Also, TACON claimed the rainy season rendered the equipment unusable.

In the middle of the trial, Prosper countersued TACON, arguing that the loaders did not provide service, not because they were broken down, but because TACON let them idle with no orders to accomplish. Prosper also argued that TACON must pay 6.8 million Br for the time the machines remained idle and return the machines as per the contract.

The High Court, which reviewed both cases, rejected the claims. The judge also affirmed that TACON did not present evidence to prove it had given notice about the malfunctioning of the machinery to Prosper. The Court also stated that Prosper had already taken the full payment for the equipment, and there is no money TACON is required to pay to Prosper. The Supreme Court sustained the lower Court's ruling.

It triggered Prosper to take the case to the Cassation Bench, the last hierarchy in the court system. With an appeal dated September 4, 2017, Prosper stated to the Cassation Bench that the lower courts made an error of law in their rulings.

With an appeal filed on June 11, 2019, the respondent, TACON, asserted that Prosper opened the file after a year and five months of the Supreme Court's ruling, while the file was registered with a date of September 4, 2017.