SITA UK's appeal over the High Court's March 2010 decision to halt its bid for damages over the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority's (GMWDA) procurement of its £3.8 billion PFI-funded waste contract is set to be heard on December 14 or 15.
However, in its statement, the GMWDA noted that this new action had been “stayed pending resolution of the appeal” and it is understood that this writ will merged into the first action if SITA UK is successful.
The second action is believed to have been put together in February 2010, based on new information that SITA UK received from the GMWDA in November 2009, whereas the first action was based on information the company received earlier.
The first legal action, launched in August 2009, was based on SITA UK's claim that it should have been allowed to resubmit a bid for the contract when Viridor-Laing's costs rose and the project changed significantly (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, following a four-day hearing in London's high court in February 2010, the GMWDA succeeded in its attempt to halt SITA UK's bid for an estimated £92 million in damages over the procurement (see letsrecycle.com story), on the basis that the claim had been launched too late to proceed to a full court hearing.
This prompted SITA UK's April 2010 announcement that it had lodged a formal appeal over Mr Justice Mann's decision to not allow it to pursue its claim (see letsrecycle.com story).
GMWDA
Commenting on the latest news, the chair of the GMWDA, councillor Neil Swannick , said that the Authority had no further comment to make, but did say: “The Authority was bemused by the second issue”.
SITA UK had no formal comment on make on the issue.
The Greater Manchester waste PFI was signed in April 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story), almost two years after the GMWDA and Viridor-Laing had originally hoped to achieve financial close on the deal.
However, since the signing, the GMWDA has highlighted the progress made in developing the infrastructure being built under the long-term contract, confirming in August 2009 that all 36 facilities being developed as part of the deal had received planning permission (see letsrecycle.com story).
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