BLOCKED!

The Supreme Court has made a preservation order restraining local developer Andre Motta and his two companies, Master Core Limited and Dreams De La Island Limited, from dealing with their assets up to $30 million in connection with a lawsuit brought by a retired American couple, who allege the abandonment of their retirement home project in St Thomas.

Justice Althea Jarrett made the order on July 28, 2025 during a pretrial hearing.

“As an interim preventative measure, the defendants – whether by themselves, their servants and/or agents, or otherwise – are restrained from disposing of, transferring, charging, diminishing, or in any way dealing with their assets ... and from withdrawing or transferring any funds from their accounts in respect to the sum of $30 million or any part thereof until such further order of the court,” the order reads.

The couple, John Tomlin, 62, and Constance Tomlin, 57, filed a lawsuit against Motta and his companies for breach of contract.

They allege that they paid over $64 million in November 2022 for what was supposed to be a 10-month construction project in Mezgar Gardens, St Thomas, but that the developer abandoned the job, leaving the house just six per cent complete and riddled with poor workmanship.

In a separate order made in June 2025, the court directed Motta and his companies to disclose the full details of how the $64,166,500 was spent. They were also required to disclose whether any portion of the funds is held in their names, by nominees, or in accounts either locally or overseas.

In addition, the defendants were ordered to pay into court $10 million, said to represent the surplus paid above the value of work completed to date. This figure was determined in a quantity surveyors’ report prepared by Davidson & Hanna, chartered quantity surveyors, dated March 26, 2024. However, the defendants have failed to comply with both orders.

These orders are among a number of relief sought in a summary judgment application filed by the claimants, who are also seeking to have Motta’s defence struck out, arguing that the developer and his companies have failed to show any reasonable grounds for defending the claim.

According to court documents, the Tomlins signed the agreement in June 2022 after Motta allegedly presented himself as a seasoned and capable contractor, offering an attractive proposal for the project. However, problems reportedly emerged shortly after excavation began in August 2022.

The couple claims Motta became increasingly unresponsive, failed to deliver progress updates, and routinely missed scheduled site meetings without notice. By April 2023, they say only two per cent of the work had been completed, despite repeated attempts to get updates.

They eventually hired a project manager to oversee the stalled works, but allege that Motta was hostile and uncooperative, instructing his workers not to engage with the manager.

Reports from both the project manager and consultant engineers from WholeWorks Services, draughting and building technologists, concluded that the completed works were “materially faulty, defective, and/or substandard”. Among the issues identified were deviations from the approved architectural and engineering specifications, which led the project manager to issue two stop-work orders.

SETBACK FROM PROJECT FAILURE

The Tomlins had planned to move into their St Thomas retirement home by April 2023 and rent their overseas property to defray mortgage costs. Instead, the project’s failure has forced them to remain abroad, incurring ongoing expenses, while losing out on an estimated US$2,600 per month in rental income.

In December 2022, the couple installed surveillance cameras on the site, which confirmed that no construction had resumed. They also reported overgrown vegetation and termite infestation, which they attributed to Motta’s continued neglect.

After unsuccessful mediation efforts, the Tomlins retained attorneys Mark Paul Cowan and Keren Campbell of Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon & Co to terminate the contract and pursue legal action.

When contacted by The Gleaner, Motta denied the allegations, contending that it was the Tomlins who breached the agreement by involving a third-party project manager who, he claimed, interfered with the construction process.

“That third party pretty much ruined the project. I’m not sure if they were trying to take over or steal the project, but they created false reports that caused weeks and months of back and forth,” Motta said.

He described the Tomlins as “clients from hell”, accusing them of trying to micromanage the project. Motta said he had not yet reviewed the full claim, but intends to mount a defence with his attorney, Cedric Brown.

The matter remains before the Supreme Court and will next be mentioned on October 28 for the continuation of the summary judgment application, which started on the last court date.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com