De Havilland turns to Delhi court to enforce SpiceJet award

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC, Toronto Downsview) has asked the Delhi High Court to force SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int’l) to pay USD42.9 million in damages awarded and then upheld earlier this year at the High Court of Justice in London.

It was reported in March 2020 that the manufacturer was suing the increasingly indebted low-cost carrier over a 2017 purchase agreement for twenty-five Dash 8-400 turboprops, claiming that the airline subsequently paid for and took delivery of five of them but halted pre-delivery payments for most of the remainder.

SpiceJet has argued that its payment obligations were suspended by a change order the two companies signed in April 2019, alleging that this suspended payment liability as well as scheduled delivery dates, something De Havilland denied.

As SpiceJet has so far made no apparent move to pay the award ordered in London, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada filed an application at the Delhi court to implement the ruling, sources told the Hindu Business Line on July 7.

In preparation for another legal clash, both sides have hired top local lawyers, in De Havilland’s case Mumbai-based K Ashar & Co, and for SpiceJet Harish Salve, a senior advocate who practices at the Supreme Court of India.

The embattled budget carrier has faced a flurry of court cases in recent months over alleged unpaid debts. It recently pledged to separate its profitable cargo business to operate as a separate entity and said it would seek to raise INR25 billion rupees (USD33 million) to stay afloat.

SpiceJet had not responded to ch-aviation’s request for comment at the time of going to press, while De Havilland Aircraft of Canada declined to comment.