Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert yesterday hit back at claims that he owed a builder more than $130,000 and falsified a contract to secure a bank loan.

The MP told The Royal Gazette that an agreement drawn up between him and his cousin Floyd Forth for construction work on his Hamilton parish home and shown to Capital G Bank in order to get a loan was perfectly legitimate.

And he said the dispute over payment between him and Mr. Forth, 51, of Ferrars Lane, Pembroke, should never have gone to court as it was an accounting matter.

Mr. Forth, of F2 Property Management Group, is suing the United Bermuda Party leader for $80,623.77 for construction work he did at Mr. Furbert's house on Brown Estates Road and $49,920 for an alleged unpaid loan.

The civil action, which Mr. Furbert is contesting, was adjourned at Supreme Court yesterday to a date to be fixed in order for his lawyer to draw up a comprehensive list of documents to be disclosed.

Mr. Furbert said afterwards that the claims made in court about him were "lies". "There was a contract but it was a very loose contract because we had agreed in principle how we were operating," he said.

"The bank needed a contract to make sure that we did not go over the amount that's borrowed. It's as simple as that. So we agreed to sign a contract. Now, how we operate that contract is based on Floyd and I's relationship. There was nothing about defrauding the bank."

His lawyer Edward Bailey added: "Sometimes people go and say they want to borrow money for building and they go and use it for something else. That's why the bank asked for a contract. Mr. Furbert did not forge any accounts. In his statement to the court he denies that."

Mr. Furbert, an accountant, said he had proof of a number of payments he made to Mr. Floyd for the construction work which the latter had not taken into account.

"We know we have paid him," he said. "If I owe him anything, it's a minimal amount. We have never said we don't owe him any money. We have said we don't know how much money we owe him.

"It's blown out of proportion. This is not a legal problem. The problem comes down to whether Floyd has deducted the payments. It's an accounting issue."

Mr. Furbert said he was "very sad" about the situation because it did not "have to come to this".

Mr. Bailey said Mr. Forth never lent his client $49,920 but in fact simply paid back cash given to him as "start-up money" for the project. "It was not a loan. He paid money which he said he lent Mr. Furbert but it was Mr. Furbert's money."

Mr. Furbert yesterday dropped a counter-claim against Mr. Forth for alleged unsatisfactory work. Mr. Forth denied the claim of poor workmanship and said no complaints were ever made to him about quality.

Puisne Judge Geoffrey Bell yesterday gave Mr. Bailey two weeks to produce an amended list of documents and ordered Mr. Forth's lawyer to disclose all of a set of invoices, regardless of whether they related to Mr. Furbert's house.

He said the matter may not have to return to court if the parties could agree on the amount owed.

Contract was legitimate, says Furbert