Unipac Properties drags Halliburton International to court

The suit filed against Halliburton International by Unipac Properties was heard in court on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 with the case being subsequently adjourned to March 7, 2018 for trial date to be set.

Unipac Properties is seeking damages in the form of compensation against Halliburton International for wrongful termination of contract.

According to court documents, Unipac Properties was contracted in January 15, 2014 by Halliburton International to provide facilities management services on its premises.

The plaintiff in statement of claim says that in reliance of the said contract, it employed staff and entered into agreements to facilitate its performance of the terms of the defendant.

The plaintiff, on item 8 of its statement of claim, says during the pendency of the agreement the defendant begun pressurising the plaintiff to reduce, amend or deviate from agreed terms which the defendant in the response (Item 15) denied and puts the plaintiff to strict proof.

Meanwhile item 13 of the Plaintiff’s response to the defendant’s statement of defense in item 15, states that “it will adduce oral and written evidence to prove that the Defendant during the pendency of the contract put undue pressure on them to reduce, amend or deviate from agreed terms.”

The plaintiff further stated that the defendant also made several approaches to its staff during the pendency of the contract.

The plaintiff says that per letter dated January 26, 2015, the defendant purportedly terminated the contract “for reasons of convenience, as stipulated in the contract” while the plaintiff says that the termination is wrongful and unlawful.

The plaintiff says that its contract with the defendant does not include clause 90 neither does it include the clause(s) under which the defendant purported to terminate the contract. The plaintiff further states that its contract with the defendant cannot be interpreted under Ghanaian laws to incorporate any such termination for convenience clause which did not form part of or was included in the contract.

It would be recalled that, the Ghanaian Times first reported the court case between the two on February 3, 2016 was part of its monitoring agenda in the developing oil industry in Ghana between local industries and international partners under the local content legislation.