The $3 million civil suit related to the Electric Formula brought by promoter Alexandre Choko against the City of Montreal was recently dismissed by the Court, TVA Nouvelles has learned.
• Also read: Formula E fiasco: Denis Coderre says he busted a promoter over fraud allegations
• Also read: Formula E fiasco: a lawsuit against the City of Montreal in 2024
Mr. Choko alleged that he had been excluded from the process aimed at organizing the Formula E race in July 2017, in favor of evenko.
He claimed damages for the loss of opportunity.
In his suit, he maintained that “Mayor Coderre's team, wrongfully and abusively, ensured that evenko obtained promotion of the event, to the detriment of all the rules applicable to the awarding of public contracts […] and to the detriment of the plaintiff.
Denis Coderre also testified last June during the trial linked to this prosecution.
In its decision, the Court explains that several factors raise doubts about Alexandre Choko's chances of success.
He admitted having no experience in calls for tenders.
Furthermore, despite having organized sporting events, it does not have experience in organizing events on the scale of Formula E Championship races.
A car exhibition dating back to 1999 remains his only experience in the automotive field.
Furthermore, he does not demonstrate an operational structure or team to support him in setting up an event of this magnitude.
“Added to this is the fact that the City of Montreal commits no fault if it does not interfere in the choice of the organizer of the race and the awarding of the contract, since MCE acts completely independently. In this context, since the non-profit organization Montréal C'est Électrique (MCE) is not subject to the requirements of the Cities and Towns Act, there is no obligation to proceed with a call for tenders. In the absence of fault, there can be no obligation to compensate,” explains the Court.