A petition to force the company sacked by Government from the new Berkeley Institute site to go into compulsory liquidation has been submitted to the Supreme Court.

The application to wind up Pro-Active Management was made by lawyer Michael Smith of Smith & Co. law firm on October 16, according to a legal notice published on Friday.

It is understood that the law firm is owed about $15,000 from Pro-Active, which was kicked off the Berkeley project in 2004 and has since been involved in a protracted legal battle over the sacking with Government.

The petition will be heard at the Supreme Court on Friday at 9.30 a.m. when Pro-Active's creditors will have the chance to chance to speak for or against the application.

Pro-Active's legal adviser Julian Hall said: The Royal Gazette: "It is an attempt to get a compulsory wind-up. For reasons that I don't want to go into, it's most unlikely to result in a winding up order."

Pro-Active was awarded the $70-million Berkeley contract in 2001 — a decision which raised eyebrows as the company had only been registered for a year and had put in a bid $5 million more than that of more established construction firm Bermuda Tech.

The Pembroke senior school should have been built by September 2003 but after repeated delays and a spiralling budget, Pro-Active was sacked in August 2004. The firm sued Government for wrongful termination and the latter countersued.

Arbitration proceedings to resolve the dispute are understood to be ongoing though a confidentiality clause prevents either party from discussing the details publicly.

It has been reported in the broadcast media that so far Government has agreed it owes Pro-Active close to $6 million. Government has denied that figure and said no award has been made.

A number of subcontractors who worked on the Berkeley project are still owed money from Pro-Active. Mr. Hall said: "The vast majority of Pro-Active's creditors have very kindly and sensibly agreed to await the final resolution of Pro-Active's dispute with Bermuda Government.

"The vast majority have realised quite sensibly that you can't get blood out of a stone so they might as well wait and see if the company becomes whole again."