(Nassau, Bahamas) – Member of Parliament for Central and South Eleuthera and Minister of State for Legal Affairs, Damian Gomez, on Saturday June 9th  issued a statement to The Eleutheran in response to published allegations, in reference to claims that Mr. Gomez has withheld payments due to a former client, Mr.  Attain Takitota.

Mr. Gomez said that he took, “grave exception to the false allegations set out in the Nassau Guardian’s issue of today’s date.” The date in reference being June 8th, 2012. According to the published article, a writ was filed during the week, June 4th – 8th, in  the Supreme Court in which Mr. Takitota claimed that Mr. Gomez retained control of approximately $999,331 that belongs to him without his permission.  Mr. Gomez was his attorney in a successful lawsuit against the Government of the Bahamas for false imprisonment – a case heard well before he was elected to parliament in May 2012 and appointed to his current Ministerial position.   Court of appeal judgements were handed down in 2006 and in 2009 (see attachments).

The statement issued by Mr. Gomez, says that he, “has accounted for what was received on behalf of Mr. Takitota and what has been disbursed at his instruction.  No monies are owed to Mr. Takitota by Damian Gomez, Chilcott Chambers or Deal & Gomez.”

He termed the claim to be frivolous and said that in due course his attorneys will put forward a rigorous defense.  

He outlined the following:

On February 23, 2006 and March 18, 2009 the Court of Appeal made two rulings in which it required the Government of the Bahamas to pay Attain Takitota the sum of $700,000.00 and interest thereon with costs to be taxed if not otherwise agreed.  The law firms of Deal & Gomez and Chilcott Chambers received respectively a cheque drawn on the Public Treasury to the account of Attain Takitota the sum of $542,474.00 and the sum of $209,589.04.  Following negotiations on behalf of Mr. Takitota and the Taxation of Costs, the Government of The Bahamas paid a further cheque to Chilcott Chambers in the sum of $225,912.92  –   (pdf copies of the cheques were forwarded with the release).

No further cheques have been received by either Deal & Gomez or Chilcott Chambers by the Government of The Bahamas in respect of Attain Takitota and the Government of The Bahamas.

On the following dates, the following cheques were issued to Attain Takitota:

  • January 10, 2007 for $312,474.00; and
  • June 23, 2011 for $205,000.00 (copies of the cheques were forwarded with the release)

On the following dates, on the instruction of Attain Takitota, Messrs. A.D. Hanna & Co. were paid $200,000.00 in two (2) cheques of equal amounts:·        

  • January, 2007 for $100,000.00; and
  •  September 30, 2011 for $100,000.00 (A copy of the  letter and cheque was forwarded with the release) 

Mr. Takitota agreed to pay fees on a contract where legal services were to be paid for at $500.00 per hour or 20% of funds which was to be received from the Government of The Bahamas, which ever was the greater (see fee agreement between Attain Takitota and Chilcott Chambers dated April 1, 2009).  Mr. Takitota has been billed in accordance with the fee agreement and funds have been withheld by Chilcott Chambers in respect of fees and in accordance with the fee agreement hereinbefore referred to.