Alliance Global Group Inc. chief operating officer Kevin Tan called Datem’s move to freeze Megaworld’s assets ‘ridiculous and absurd,’ emphasizing that the construction firm’s financial claim represents only a minuscule amount of the property firm’s total assets.
‘The move to freeze Megaworld’s assets is ridiculous and absurd, considering that the P873 million they are claiming is just a meager 0.2% of Megaworld’s total assets,’ Tan said in a statement.
Datem faces legal storm as Andrew Tan’s Megaworld vows lawsuit over negligence and abandonment of commitment
Datem, represented by the Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia Law Office, obtained a court order to freeze five properties of Megaworld through a writ of preliminary attachment (WPA) due to the Tan-owned company’s alleged failure to pay its obligations to the construction firm.
These projects include Uptown Parksuites Towers 1 and 2, Eastwood Global Plaza corporate tower and luxury residences, One Le Grand Tower, 18 Avenue De Triumph, and Clark Green Frontier.
Legal battle heats up as freeze order hits Andrew Tan’s Megaworld and 10 banks in Datem dispute over nearly P1B dues
The WPA serves as a provisional remedy to prevent the defendant from disposing of or hiding assets that might be used to satisfy a potential judgment.
In an order dated November 9, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court said that the evidence submitted by Datem demonstrated “sufficient grounds to support the claim that defendant (Megaworld) engaged in fraudulent activities in contracting the debt and fulfilling its obligations.”
‘Substantiated fraud charges’: Court issues freeze order on Megaworld’s assets as Datem sues to recover nearly P1 billion in unpaid bills
The court stressed that while Datem has ‘substantiated’ its fraud charges to justify the WPA, this “should not in any way affect the merits of the principal case.”
Datem accused Megaworld of employing a ‘consistent pattern of schemes’ to delay or refuse payments and make unauthorized and unilateral deductions.
Tan, on the other hand, announced that Megaworld would sue Datem for its alleged failure to fulfill contractual commitments, resulting in additional costs due to project delays.
He accused Datem of consistently missing promised completion dates for several projects, noting that Megaworld was compelled to engage other contractors to take over the projects due to what he described as Datem’s gross negligence and blatant disregard for project completion timelines.
Datem, on the other hand, claimed that Megaworld’s refusal to pay its dues “severely crippled” its cash flow, forcing it to absorb higher costs, suffer losses, and stall the settlement of its dues to its suppliers and subcontractors, all in an effort to “keep its head above water.”
