Judge dismisses DP World portions of Eller lawsuit

Judge dismisses DP World portions of Eller lawsuit    A Florida judge Monday dismissed a legal challenge by Eller & Co.'s subsidiary against P&O Ports that charged P&O's sale to DP World violated a contract between the partners in a Port of Miami terminal.
   Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Jon Gordon dismissed the elements of a lawsuit filed by Eller subsidiary Continental Stevedoring and Terminals against P&O Ports, who is one of three partners operating the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company (POMTOC) terminal at the Port of Miami.
   P&O attorney Rodolfo Sorondo argued that the sale of P&O Port to DP World did not affect the Miami contract between P&O and the Eller subsidiaries.
   'The only thing that has changed is who owns the shares of Peninsular,' said an Associated Press account of the Monday hearing.
   While the judge dismissed the DP World-related portions of the case, another lawsuit pertaining to P&O’s 2003 takeover of POMTOC minority partner Oceanic Stevedoring, which gave P&O 50 percent control of POMTOC, will proceed. That lawsuit charges that the acquisition of Oceanic was part of a 'devious plan' by P&O to gain full control of POMTOC.
   Gordon issued the ruling from the bench on Monday and said a written order would follow.
   Eller & Co.'s challenges of the P&O Ports sale to DP Ports World attracted widespread attention and furor during the immediate aftermath of the sale. DP World is now seeking an American buyer for the P&O Ports assets in the United States.