A High Court judge has granted an interim injunction restraining the TT Table Tennis Association (TTTTA) from taking any further action pursuant to its decision to select players Aaron Wilson and Yuvraaj Dookram for the Commonwealth Games. The Games will be held in Gold Coast, Australia from April 4-15.
The injunction was granted Friday by Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell who is presiding over a lawsuit filed by France-based professionals Rheann Chung and Dexter St Louis who are seeking to overturn the decision to omit them from the national team selected for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
The two players are seeking compensation for breach of contract, conspiracy and/or unlawful interference.
In their injunction, Chung and St Louis asked the court to prevent the TTTTA from taking any steps to implement the decision to select Wilson and Dookram for the Commonwealth Games.
Chung and St Louis have also asked the court to order the TTTTA to refer the question of the selection to arbitration by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) as provided for in Section 31 of the TTOC�s constitution.
Attorneys for the duo and the TTTTA were directed to file submissions on the arbitration point before the next hearing of the case on January 24. The injunction stays in place until then.
The TTTTA is arguing that neither St Louis nor Chung adhered to the national selection policy implemented at the association�s AGM in January 2016. The selection policy states that persons desirous of national selection must compete in at least one local tournament on the TTTTA calendar and have a podium finish in the last nine months. The association is also relying on an alleged exchange of emails between St Louis and the association.
Attorneys Mathew G W Gayle, sports lawyer Dr Emir Crowne and Sheriza Khan are representing Chung and St Louis while Kiel Tacklalsingh, Dinesh Rambally and Steffan Ramkissoon are representing the TTTTA. (Trinidad Newsday)
