Businessman Roy DeCambre’s tenacious battle with Total Jamaica gained further ground when the Supreme Court ruled that National Fuels and Lubricants’ suit to claim estimated lost earnings of J$34 billion must go ahead, with the French company able to bring an application to appeal this ruling.

The case centres on lead principal of local gas station company, National Fuels, Roy DeCambre selling its operations to the multi-national integrated energy conglomerate Total for US$9.1 million.

However, DeCambre has always maintained that seven of those gas stations were never legitimately possessed by Total and that it did not pay the rightful sums for those businesses. As such National Fuels has incurred expenses and has forfeited lost earnings which Total Jamaica must make recompense for.

Represented by attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman, DeCambre won a significant battle in an ongoing war when Justice Ann-Marie Lawrence Grainger held that Total’s move to strike out National Fuel’s claim was dismissed and that there is a strong case to answer and that a date for the hearing will be set in due course.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to reject Total’s file to throw out the case and instead let it proceed to trial makes it clear that we have strong grounds to be heard,” said Wildman.

Total has always said that it has abided by the deal in good faith making all required payments.

DeCambre has called into question how this transaction was conducted and the role played in it by Total Jamaica’s Company Secretary and representative attorney, P.J. Asher. This in turn led to investigations by the Fraud Squad, with the DPP slapping Asher with 17 counts of fraud. 

P.J. Asher has stressed repeatedly that he executed his duties and responsibilities in a professional manner, always sticking to the letter of the law and was never part of any underhanded machinations.

DeCambre claims to have received unsolicited offers from an overseas entity via a local law firm for all the ten gas stations. This prospective buyer believes the transfers will be voided, giving it an opportunity to profit from the former National Fuels gas outlets.

A point of interest here is how did DeCambre arrive at the sum of J$34 billion owed by Total Jamaica? Total has declared that figure as ludicrous and not worthy of the court’s time.

In an interview with Our Today, a forthright DeCambre straightened his back before asserting, “The ten gas stations in question do an average of 1.5 million gallons per month. The Heroes Circle station does in excess of 500,000 gallons a month on its own and is said to be Total’s highest sales volume station of all its gas outlets in the world. So, you can see it is generating a lot of revenue.”

“OK, so let’s say the other nine stations do one million gallons per month; that’s 1.5 million assuming a $100 price over the exrefinery (most of these stations are priced closer to $200 over exrefinery). Right there, that’s J$150 million per month or US$1 million,” DeCambre continued.

“Now, we did this deal with Total back in 2004. So, from April 1st, 2004, 212 months later, that comes to US$212 million, then you add in interest, damages, the pain and suffering I have had to endure, which puts what is owed to well over US$300 million or J$45 billion. This is a cumulative figure. The more time goes by without getting my due, the price goes up by US$1 million each and every month. I don’t think my claim is unreasonable and any fair-minded person can see that,” he told Our Today.