NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The trustees for the City Markets employee pension plan have launched an appeal against a judge’s ruling that last month extended an injunction freezing nearly $3 million from the 2016 sale of City Markets’ former East West Highway headquarters to AML Foods Ltd.
Dennis Williams and Rosalee Mckenzie—the City Markets employee pension plan’s trustees—in an appeal filed launched in the Court of Appeal contend that the facts of the case do not support the March 27th decision by Justice Dianne Stewart.
The judge ruled that having reviewed the evidence and heard all of the submissions, she was satisfied that the injunction instituted back in 2019 should be continued, noting that there is already evidence that some of the money has been disbursed to third parties.
While Justice Stewart made no findings as to whether those were proper transfers, she noted that the monies have left the control of the City Markets employee pension plan’s trustees Dennis Williams and Rosalee Mckenzie.
The City Markets headquarters and warehouse was the main asset owned by the now defunct supermarket chain’s employee pension plan, and its sale to AML Foods has monetized the real estate to the satisfaction of nearly 300 beneficiaries who have been waiting a decade for the recovery of their retirement savings.
The trustees in their appeal also contend that the judge did not consider that they would suffer loss and hardship which could not be compensated in damages and that they would suffer prejudice that outweighs any prejudice experienced by any other party benefiting from the injunctive relief.
They also argue that the judge erred in fact and law by not considering the subject transactions as a bonafide transaction done in good faith.
“The judge erred in fact and law by not considering that ABDAB Limited or any company controlled by Mark Finlayson is now able to own any subject property of BSL Trust and that ABDAB or any company owned or controlled by Mark Finlayson was prosecuted in civil court over the same property and estopped in any claim over the subject property,” the trustees wrote.
ABDAB (Associated Bahamian Distillers and Brewers) Properties Ltd, a corporate entity controlled by the Finlayson family that owns the former City Markets food store chain, contend that Williams and McKenzie were never appointed as trustees to hold property and were not entitled to hold any money from the sale.
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