Judge refuses to grant a stay on the proceeding of rugby sponsorship case

High Court Judge, Justice Kamal Kumar has today refused to grant a stay on the proceeding relating to the rugby sponsorship case.

Fiji Rugby Union lawyers had made an application last week that there should be a stay on the proceedings filed by Digicel against the FRU.

FRU lawyer, Nilesh Lajendra had said that this is based on certain sections of the sponsorship contract between Digicel and FRU.

Lajendra had said that the contract states that any disputes between the two parties should be referred to arbitration within 30 days.

Lajendra said Digicel took the matter straight to court which is contrary to what the parties had agreed to in the contract.

However, Justice Kumar today said the Digicel's case should remain and be heard in court.

Digicel has taken the FRU to court after the FRU signed off the $40 million sponsorship deal with the consortium led by Vodafone.

Digicel is arguing that they had matched the offer and should have been given the sponsorship.

Story by: Praneeta Prakash