Firm loses faith in derivative case judge

JAKARTA (JP): The United Kingdom-based Bankers Trust International PLC. demanded on Tuesday the replacement of the judge presiding the cases against two local companies over disputed derivative transactions.

Bankers Trust's lawyer Ibrahim Senen said the replacement was needed because Bankers Trust felt the presiding judge violated civil procedural law and gave unfair treatment in both of the company's separate cases against PT Mayora Indah and PT Jakarta International Hotel & Development (JIHD).

"The presiding judge did not give equal opportunity between the defendant and the plaintiff in presenting their evidence," he said, citing the defendant's evidence and legal proposals to the judge were frequently rejected without good reasons.

Mayora and JIHD, both listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), filed lawsuits at the South Jakarta District Court against Bankers Trust in April for providing risky banking transactions without prior financial advice. The transactions, the plaintiffs said, had caused them great financial losses.

The two cases were presided by Judge J.M.T. Simatupang.

Ibrahim said the judge, for example, rejected the defendant to bring in independent opinions from expert witnesses but allowed the plaintiff to revise the content of their lawsuits after the court hearing had already proceeded.

The plaintiffs' lawyer representing both Mayora and JIHD against Bankers Trust, Hotman Paris Hutapea, said the defendant's request to replace the presiding judge was baseless, saying that if the defendant did not agree with the judge they could just exercise their appeal rights at the higher court.

Hotman also denied the fact the judge rejected evidence submitted by the defendants.

"The judge actually accepted the defendant's evidence physically but rejected to qualify it as evidence for the court," Hotman said.

Other cases of derivative transactions at the South Jakarta District Court such as that filed by Suryamas Duta Makmur are all with the same plaintiff lawyer Hotman Paris, and the same judge J.M.T. Simatupang.

"It adds to our curiosity of why the same lawyer and the same judge are handling these derivative cases at the South Jakarta Court," Ibrahim added.

The derivative contract between Mayora and Bankers Trust, which was signed in 1997 and falls due in 2004, requires Mayora to exchange US$50 million in rupiah at an agreed rate with Bankers Trust.

While the contract with JIHD was signed in 1995 and contained different maturity dates, ranging from 2002 to 2005, with a net delivery value of $88 million. (udi)